Archaeologists from the Japanese University of Yamagata discovered 168 large figures near the city of Nazca in Peru, thanks to field work that lasted 8 months.
As reported by the researchers in a press release, “The geoglyphs are believed to date from between 100 B.C. and 300 AD”, which correspond to human figures and animals such as orcas, cats, birds, camels and snakes.
The research study, using high-resolution aerial photography and drone images, was led by academic Masato Sakai in collaboration with Peruvian archaeologist Jorge Olano.
The new findings are added to the list of another 190 that were discovered until 2018, thus having a total of 358 geoglyphs near the Nazca lines, which were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1994.
The discovered geoglyphs include human figures, camels, birds, orcas, felines, and snakes.
These geoglyphs were created in ancient times by removing black stones from the earth’s surface to expose a deeper layer of white sand.
Thanks to eight months of field work, archaeologists from Japan’s Yamagata University discovered 168 large figures near the city of Nazca in Peru.
As reported by the researchers in a press release, “The geoglyphs are believed to date from between 100 B.C. and 300 AD”, corresponding to human figures and animals such as orcas, cats, birds, camels and snakes.
The research, which used high-resolution aerial photography and drone images, was led by academic Masato Sakai in collaboration with Peruvian archaeologist Jorge Olano.
Human figure geoglyph
The 168 recently discovered geoglyphs are added to another 190 that were found until 2018, thus having a total of 358 geoglyphs discovered near the Nazca lines, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1994.
These geoglyphs were created in ancient times by removing black stones from the earth’s surface to expose a deeper layer of white sand.
The research group has explained that there are 2 types of geoglyphs: the linear type and the relief type. 5 of the recent findings are linear, while the remaining 163 are relief.
The study is the product of an alliance between the Ministry of Culture of Peru and the University of Yamagata for the conservation and scientific research of geoglyphs, thanks to which an archaeological park was established in 2017 in order to protect the geoglyphs discovered by the university in the Aja area, near the center of the city of Nazca.
Now, archaeologists are using artificial intelligence to clarify the distribution patterns of the geoglyphs and thus contribute to their conservation.
Published by The Tampa Herald, news and information agency.
