Preview

The Nazca Lines

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
126 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Nazca Lines
30,000 feet high in the sky, over the Peruvian desert, many different shapes can be spotted. The likes of animals, plants, symbols. There have been many theories about these mysterious shapes over the years, all trying to answer the same question; where did they come from, and what is their purpose? Theories have gone in a variety of directions stating that maybe they are alien, used as runways for spacecraft, offerings to the gods, or parts of rituals. Within all these theories, two seem to stand the strongest; either they are runways and were used for spacecraft, or they are offerings in rituals for good fortune: rain, fertility. Indeed, the Nazca Lines were used for rituals and offerings to the gods instead of runways for spacecraft.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    “So far archeologist have found 139 offerings and more than 9,000 objects, including children’s skeletons, bones of marine fish, turtle shells…masks, musical instruments… and cotton textiles.”22 Archeologist even discovered what appeared to be a “…god of death statue… bathed with large quantities of blood from sacrificed people…”23 A reminder of gory rituals practiced by the Aztecs. What is interesting about some of the more obscure and less exciting items is not the items themselves but where they came from. Objects that were unearthed were found to have come from places such as the Gulf Coast, Guerrero24, and “…the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona.”25 This shows the extensive lengths that the Aztecs travelled for trade. Their power, influence and strength reached far beyond the boundaries of their capital in Tenochtitlan. Many of the more significant offerings and objects found at the temple are reminders of the importance of the two deities of the Templo Mayor to the Aztec people. Every layer of fill contained offerings to the gods, most of which were related to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.26 Leonardo Lopez Lujan and Judy Levin believe that the arrangement of the offerings in the fill “… can tell us how the Aztec people understood the world and what they were trying to say to the gods through their…

    • 1788 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shapes and volume are used not only to form man-made objects in the painting, but as the foundation for natural landmarks as well. In the foreground, the cinder wall is intricately composed of various triangles and squares, all connected by lines. The abovementioned tree is also composed of shapes, with two, well-defined circles acting as knots in the wood. The houses in the village below are constructed with well-defined lines to represent three-dimensional forms, with cubes and elongated triangular forms composing roofs. A small dirt plot in the shape of a square dominates the area of the closest houses of the municipality.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Maya cosmos was divided into three layers connected along a vertical axis that traced the course of the sun. Human existence held an intermediate position between the heavens and the underworld. A sacred tree rose through the three layers; its roots were in the underworld and its branches reached to heaven. The pyramids were sacred mountains reaching into the heavens.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    i. Today, a series of tombs, pavements, and monuments are all that remain of the city that was built in alignment with a constellation or star. The design and layout of La Venta tells us that the Olmec, like the great Mesoamerican civilizations that came after them, had an interest in and knowledge of astronomy.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    THREE SUMMERS BACK, a friend and I were being hurtled by bus through the heart of Australia, the desert flashing pink and red before our disbelieving eyes. It never seemed to end, this desert, so flat, so dry. For days, we saw kangaroos hopping off into the distance across the parched earth. The landscape was very unlike ours – scrub growth with some exotic species of cactuses, no lakes, no rivers, just sand and rock and sand and rock forever. Beautiful in its own special way, haunting even – what the surface of the moon must look like, I thought to myself as I sat there in the dusk in that almost empty bus.…

    • 4006 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mesa Verde

    • 2587 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Park is managed by the archeologists now call the Anasazi Anasazi is aNavaho word that without metal of any kind Theyhad no written language yet and arrow for hunting and sharp-edged stones and bones A D Robert L Axtell Sciences of theUnited States suggest that Mesa and theirinteraction with their environment andanimal foods to nourish and sustain themselves Life was replace hunting-and-gathering as the main source D the people of Mesa Verde had rose two or even three stories high ChristinaClarke writes in we now refer to as own kiva The period from people This population was concentratedin villages with connected homes Verde wereunderground chambers that may have roof The hole is the symbolic the average lifeexpectancy of an Anasazi shelteredtheir ancestors Archeologists are unsure about why that the…

    • 2587 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion at Chichen Itza

    • 939 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It is common belief that the Mayans developed the first solar calendar, but what most people don’t realise is how the entirety of El Castillo conveys this deep level of scientific understanding. El Castillo in its simplest form is a solar calendar due to each of its four sides having 91 steps, this including the altar ads up to 365, the full length of a Mayan solar year. 4Another distinguishing feature of this pyramid that highlights the Mayans revolutionary understanding of astronomy can be seen during the spring and fall equinox every year. As the sun sets, a play of light and shadow creates the appearance of a snake that gradually slithers down the stairway of the pyramid to reach the large snake-head sculptures carved into the base of the stairway5. This descent signifies the Mayan god of creation, Kulkulcan, who was believed to have come down from the heavens and ruled over the people of Chichén Itza.6…

    • 939 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aztec Achievements

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The fourth artifact is a picture of Aztecs farming on islands called chinampas in a lake. “The Aztecs of Tenochtitlan built the city and farmed on chinampas, small artificial islands they constructed from timbers, mud, and plants”(Frey 282). Lake Texcoco was filled with islands like these, which helped to support the Aztec capital. These islands were amazing achievements that allowed the Aztecs to build a huge and easily defensible capital in the center of a lake, and to make the most use of space(Frey 282). The fifth artifact is a large stone engraved with markings and designs. This is the sun stone, one of the most well-known Aztec artifacts. Aztec “priests kept an exact solar calendar. An almanac gave dates for fixed and movable festivals and listed the various deities that held sway over each day and hour”(Aztec). They also had a second sacred calendar, which had a shorter year of 240 days. The two calendars only ever lined up every 52 years, a period that the Aztecs used to measure time in a way similar to a century(Aztec). The sixth artifact is a picture of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec island capital, the city that had so dazzled the Spanish who had came to conquer it. A network of canals, paths, and bridges spread through the city, and three huge causeways connected the island to the the mainland. “An aqueduct brought drinking water[to the city] from Chapultepec, a rocky height…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Nez Perce

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Nez Perce have been known by many different names since they have been a tribe. A tribe elder said that before they had horses they were called "Cuupn'itpel'uu" which means " we walked out of the woods". Next, they were called "Nimi''ipuu" which means "real people" or " we the people". Then, Lewis and Clark gave them their well known name Nez Perce, which means "pierced nose" in French. That was a strange name for the tribe since the Nimi''ipuu didn't practice the art of piercing. They found out later that they were mistaken for a tribe that lived farther south and did practice piercing. This tribe doesn't even call themselves Nez Perce, they go by Nimi''ipuu.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egyptian Pyramids

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are many predicted meanings about architecture of the pyramids, some more far-fetched than others. One hypothesized reason for the shape of the pyramids evolves from the story of creation. According to an article by the Canadian Museum of History, “Perhaps the shape originated from the creation story, in which the world is conceived as a flat plane with four corners representing the north, east, south and west.” They article continued, “When the sky rose up, forming an invisible central axis like a pole or tree in the centre, the world took on the shape of a pyramid.” Another idea relates to the slopes of the pyramids. The slanted sides of a pyramid were believed to be designed to lead the pharaoh’s soul to heaven, representative of the rays of the sun (Parker). Also, the very top of the pyramid, known as the peak, is speculated to symbolize the entrance of the gods’ energy into the human world (“First”). For these designs to be interpreted, hard labor had to be done to create the…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grand Canyon

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages

    From the Great Pyramid of Giza up to the peak of Mt. Everest down to the great depths of the Grand Canyon lie many mysteries on how these natural wonders of the world were created. Some may have been created by the grueling labor of man or the everlasting work of Mother Nature. Over time, numerous ideas and hypothesis have been cleverly created and scientifically backed to explain the phenomenon on the creation of these marvelous sites. One of many favorites that gradually created over the past 2 billion years is the one and only Grand Canyon. The secrecy of this creation has been exposed with 4 different hypothesis all backed by science, however not a sole reasoning has been established. Today I am here to explain my reasoning on which hypothesis I believe is the true victim to the case of how the Grand Canyon actually formed.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maginot Line

    • 3783 Words
    • 16 Pages

    The Maginot Line and its relation to the world during the interwar period. The Maginot line is a fortification made by the french named after Andre Maginot , the minister of war for France. The interwar period is referring to the time between world war one and world war two. Focusing mainly on the relations between France and Germany during this period. Ultimately what is the Maginot Line and how does it have such a big impact during the interwar period and on into world war two? There are many aspects to cover but I would like to brake it down into four main ideas. To begin with what is the Maginot line exactly, how did the idea come to be and how was it built. Then the most important idea presented is the relations that it actually had on France and the surrounding nations. Next I would like to talk about the strengths/cons that came from the Maginot Line. Last I would like to finish with some of the weaknesses of the Maginot Line and why it is known as such a big failure in history. The Maginot is a very wonderful and interesting marvel during this time and I hope to relate these feelings.…

    • 3783 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lesser Antilles Lines

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages

    *1. How do you evaluate the historic/existing pricing strategy of Lesser Antilles Lines (LAL) in the San Huberto* market? What is the objective of this strategy? Can this objective be achieved?…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machu Picchu

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The agricultural section is divided into higher and lower ground. The high ground consists of five premises, the shrine (pile of stones marking a holy site) and over 40 platforms. The low ground, meanwhile, comprises seven premises, four “canchones” (open areas) and approximately 80 platforms. Some of the numerous agricultural terraces, which are placed in succession, are connected by stone stairways fitted in the walls, while others are linked by various set of steps forming corridors. The layout of the terraces and platforms is in perfect harmony with the mountains surrounding the site. Thus, the hillsides seem to be sculpted to harmonize with nature.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alien Life Research Paper

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages

    up, down, east and west in sudden and passing gleams”. Another alien encounter took place in…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays