If there’s one iconic destination in Peru every traveler should visit, it’s undoubtedly the ancient Incan site, Machu Picchu. But if you seek another equally intriguing adventure, set your sights on the enigmatic Nazca Desert. This arid expanse is home to an array of large-scale geoglyphs, known as the Nazca Lines, created by pre-Inca civilizations between 500 BC and 500 AD. While some of these fascinating creations are purely abstract lines, others are more figurative, representing various human figures, flora, fauna, and mythical creatures. The desert’s climate has remarkably preserved many of these geoglyphs, allowing modern explorers to discover them since 1927. Thanks to the advancements in artificial intelligence, we continue to uncover new glyphs even today.
A groundbreaking discovery was made by a research team from the Japanese University of Yamagata’s Nazca Institute, in collaboration with IBM Research. They uncovered 303 previously unknown geoglyphs depicting humans and animals. Unlike the larger geometric patterns dating from 200-700 AD that stretch over more than 400 sq km of the Nazca plateau, these new findings are smaller in scale but equally captivating. According to The Guardian’s Dan Collyns, the use of AI combined with low-flying drones revolutionized the speed and accuracy of these discoveries, as detailed in a research paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Among the newly found geoglyphs are illustrations of birds, plants, spiders, human-like figures with headdresses, decapitated heads, and even an orca wielding a knife, as reported by CNN’s Katie Hunt. Theories about the purpose behind these intricate designs include notions that they marked sacred spaces, served as pilgrimage sites, or functioned in calendrical, astronomical, or irrigation contexts. Some suggest they facilitated communal activities like running or dancing, or possibly even communication. It’s believed that some of these creations were intended for deities, and it seems fitting that only through modern AI technologies have we been able to fully admire these ancient wonders.
via Colossal
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Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the Substack newsletter Books on Cities and the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.
