''Estrella'' and other geometric mysteries of the plateau of Nazca
Read our new article on enigmatic features of the Nazca geoglyphs.
This article represents one of the Updates to our new project at BOOMSTARTER.ru and throws light upon an unknown type of the Nazca geoglyphs – "Estrella".
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Author: Igor Alekseev, April 14, 2014.
According to the certain data, this geoglyph was discovered in the 90-s of the last century during the tourist flights over the plateau. The district where it was found is located near the city of Palpa, which is neighbouring to Nazca. Plenty of other geoglyphs are also located here, however, hereinafter we will use the term "the Nazca geoglyphs" while referring to them in order to avoid the inessential explication.
The academic science does not recognize this “estrella” geoglyph as the ancient one, making a reference in this relation to Maria Reiche – an Austrian mathematician and archaeologist who devoted 50 years of her life to the study of geoglyphs, starting with the 40-s of the last century.
However, this is a disputable argument. Maria Reiche did not possess any satellite maps – the search of geoglyphs in such conditions was made on a random basis. It is due to this that many of the presently known images easily visible via the Google Earth have never been recorded in Maria Reiche’s catalogues.
Here’s an example. In 2011 we made an arrangement with the air crew to take not the traditional touristic route, but to slightly deviate following our guidelines. At the very start of the flight the pilots were very much surprised to unveil a large and distinctly visible cluster of geoglyphs in just few kilometres from the airport. It was not just a small image, but the whole complex of geoglyphs spread over the several square kilometres. Among others it included a 6-kilometer "Big Zigzag" – the largest of such drawings at the plateau.
Therefore, it is a common thing to miss or neglect smaller images at the vast deserted territories of the desolated hills and valleys. Up until now the Media regularly come up with another news as to discovery of a new image in the area.
The style and the construction method of "Estrella" are very much different from those of the mass of already known lines and images at the plateau. This geoglyph is comprised of circles and squares, and rather represents a creation of geometry or a geometric exercise. In this regard it is easy to understand the modern scientists – the geometry exercises were not congenial to the pre-Columbian civilizations.
I noticed another similar construction in the National Geographic documentary "The Lines of Nazca. Decoded". In the documentary I saw the scenes, where an unmanned aircraft flew over a similar drawing.
I got interested in that drawing and soon retrieved its location in the desert. We flew over the district several times and made a detailed shooting of the area. While screening the photo and video materials, we discovered three more geometric constructions of this type in the district beside the one shown in the documentary. Hence, we can speak of 8 such constructions in total. They are well visible and accessible for studying; 6 out them are presented below.
These figurines are united not only by the similarity of the "theme", but by the construction method as well. The majority of the lines and images, which are deemed to pertain to the Nazca geoglyphs, tend to have an almost perfect contour or impeccably straight lines.
In these geometric constructions those were the ‘joints’ emphasized by the stacks of stones that were of high importance for the constructors. The lines and circles, connecting the groups of joints, were rather of secondary significance and the impeccability of their performance was somewhat neglected. In addition, the ‘hierarchy’ of contours took place – some lines and images were made barely visible, while the others were singled out by large boulders or by the earth fill.
The size of the images is different, but the size of the separate elements is approximately the same. For example, the circles have the diameter of 20 to 50 metres. This is possible to draw even with the most primitive tools. Unlike the zoomorphic images of Nazca, which seem to be made by a gigantic plotter, these geometric constructions demonstrate no attempt to hide the human vestige – stacks of stones or the earth fill raked by feet or by something similar to a shovel.
However, this is where the "usual" characteristics end up.
Drawing simple geometric figures (circles, squares) of a size of 20-30 meters on a flat surface with a help of rope or a tape measure is a simple task. A completely different task is to draw a large-scale set of proper interconnected geometric figures. Making the same at a cross-terrain makes it even more challenging. The cross section length of the so-called "junction" image makes up around 200 meters.
Relatively flat hills were selected for the construction. However, the relief was still not even and some parts of the drawings were often sliding down into the ravines or slopes.
Despite the undulation of the surface, the images were constructed so that they would seem proper from the altitude. For example, while looking at the "junction" from a certain angle (not from the top), one can see that part of the drawing slid down into the ravine and became significantly elongated. This shows that the constructors were not only metering the length and drafting with the help of a rope, but also took undulation into consideration.
The lines of the drawing that bears the draft name of "estrella 2" run not only across the steep slopes, but at the bottom of valleys, ravines and the riverbeds of the earlier streams.
The image is not only laid at the surface of the hill, but envelops it like a garment – the lines run across the steep and rough slopes. A version came up that such geoglyphs were constructed with the help of a projector, fixed immovably above the ground and projecting the image to the surface, including the slopes.
However, the utmost queerness of these constructions lies probably in the fact that no one seemed to be going to look at them from the altitude. It is only "estrella 1" that can be well seen from the plane as it is the most trailed one and, what is also possible, it may as well be slightly rehabilitated for the tourists. "Estrella 2" can also be discerned, although at Google Earth this drawing is barely visible. As to the rest of the drawings, they can only be spotted with the help of zooming at the high definition photos.
Therefore, the constructors seemed to be only interested in a scheme projected to a certain land strip – in a marking of complex geometry. What goals did they have in front of them? Hard to imagine.
The academic science has a recurrent version, that the geoglyphs were used for the ritual processions. The tracks of such processions were not found at the known lines or images, which makes this theory more than doubtful.
However, it is still not clear what the geometric constructions were used for. At "estrella 1", which is sometimes visited by the most meticulous tourists, one can well see the deeply tramped land areas shown at the scheme. One of such areas, located off the centre, is significant for the absence of any lines on it.
An interesting detail. In the central part of the image there’s a certain quantity of the wooden poles. They evidently have some relation to the image. The same poles are present at "estrella 2" which is absolutely out of the tourists’ attention.
It is well observed that this wood remained in the open air for a long time – almost all of the poles are strongly twisted and much rotten. It is difficult to judge as their age (and the carbon dating will not work here as well, since the material was in contact with the atmosphere for a long time). On the other hand, the ability of wood to remain somewhat preserved for thousand of years in these meteorological conditions is supported by the quality of the discovered poles of Estaqueria – an ancient monument, pertaining to the Nazca culture.
These poles account for 2 000 years. Until recently they were used by the local inhabitants as a construction material and as timber. At present, the site is finally under protection.
The geometric constructions are placed above the older geoglyphs and seem to be younger (the tracks of marking are lighter than the lines running under them). This, of course, can also be the result of a different construction method. It is neither excluded that they may be the age mates of the latest lines (at the plateau the lines are installed in several layers and the differences between the earlier and the later ones are well visible).
A few words as to the potential purpose of the lines.
The most simple and natural explanation is that they are the installations to attract the tourists and they were built in 60-80-s of the last century. Out of all the installations described above, it is only Estrella 1, which is accessible for the tourists and only partially, as part of the image is basically not distinguishable from the altitude. Estrella 2 is located in the district, which is not visited by the tourists; the rest of the images are barely visible from height. In addition, it is almost not possible to grasp the whole of "junction" or "circles" images from the plane. To succeed with this, one would have to stop at a low height right above the middle of the image for a lengthy moment.
Another suggestion is that these images were built for entertainment or as an experiment. In this case аn argument against this suggestion would be the same – inaccessibility for viewing. For such purpose the traditional method of geoglyph construction would suit better – the method of clearing away of the top sun-darkened layer of soil and opening up of a below and almost white layer of soil. With the latter method a geoglyph becomes bright, as if luminous, and appears visible even from a satellite. It is doubtful that the constructors of these latter geoglyphs would make their life more difficult by constructing in other areas of the cross-terrain desert a few geoglyphs in a different manner.
Nowadays, it’s very difficult to find a pragmatic explanation of this type of geoglyph construction.
If to step back from the pragmatic materialistic approach to the non-materialistic explanation, then one could suggest that these are the tracks of the mysterious rituals of some clandestine society, e.g. the "free spirit geodesits", or a Nazca analogue of the widely known "circles in the fields"… In this direction there are no limits to fantasizing...
Or maybe these geoglyhs belong to the same authors, who created the other, simpler and more famous lines and drawings, but these former comprised some kind of a final touch, sealing of a complex and enigmatic activity, called the Nazca geoglyphs.
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You are more than welcome to watch the video about our project at BOOMCTARTER.ru, where you’ll see the unusual geoglyphs too:
And of course, we are looking forward to see you supporting our project at BOOMCTARTER.ru as our co-sponsors! Your assistance is much needed! Without your help it would be difficult to pass this knowledge from one world – an ancient one – into another – our modern world.
