The Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines are an interesting part of South American history. The lines are in the Nazca area of southern Peru. They are about 200 miles southeast of Peru's capital city Lima. The lines are called geoglyphs. Geoglyphs are images or drawings made on the ground.

The Nazca Lines were made by taking away darker coloured rocks to show the lighter coloured sand underneath. Because there isn't much rain or wind in the area, you can see them clearly. Archaeologists are not sure how old they are but they think they are between 500 and 2000 years old.

When people first saw the Nazca Lines from planes, some thought that aliens made them. But the ancient people from that area were the real artists of the lines. Archaeologists could also find pottery in the area with pictures on them. These pictures are the same as the pictures on the ground. Some people thought the lines were for astronomy or a special kind of calendar.

Now we know the lines were for the ancient people’s sky gods. In the Nazca area there is not a lot of rain. The ancient people made the lines so the gods could send them rain.