Peru's Nazca Lines Reveal Mysterious New Animal Images [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Peru's Nazca Lines Reveal Mysterious New Animal Images
Jul 14, 2015 10:26 AM ET // by Rossella Lorenzi

Archaeology

The Nazca Plateau in Peru contains two dozen new geoglyphs that predate by two centuries the famous monkey, spider and hummingbird listed at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Almost invisible on the surface, the images were captured by researchers from the University of Yamagata in Japan thanks to 3-D scans of the ground a mile north of the city of Nazca.

The team discovered 24 geoglyphs of animals, “some of which probably depict Andean native camelid, llamas,” the researchers said in a press release.

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The number of images adds to the 17 geoglyphs of similar style unearthed in the adjacent area by the same team last year, stretching the discovery to 41 ancient outlines.

“All these geoglyphs were drawn on the slopes of the hill, to make them clearly visible,” team leader Masato Sakai said.

Ranging from around 16 feet to 66 feet tall, the images are estimated to date back to 400 B.C. to 200 B.C. The dating makes them earlier versions of the motifs previously found on the plateau, which are believed to have been created between 400 A.D. and 650 A.D.

More:
http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/new-animal-images-found-at-perus-nazca-lines-150714.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1

Science:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/122840026#post2