Giant Desert Drawings and the People Who Made Them
Imagine flying over southern Peru and spotting a long line, then a spiral, then an animal-shaped figure on the desert below. Paul Kosok’s work on ancient irrigation helped bring attention to the Nazca geoglyphs in the 1940s. Their designs can be investigated from the ground as well as from above.
Local people knew the landscape, and some designs could be seen from hills. Aerial photography added a useful new viewpoint.
The designs raise two different questions: how were they planned, and what did people do beside them? Ground measurements can explain their construction; their purposes need other clues.
A desert landscape
The lines and figures spread across a wide area of southern Peru. Totals vary with survey boundaries and the types of mark counted. Hundreds of lines, geometric shapes and figures mark the ground; new surveys continue to expand the inventory.
300 feet
Longer than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
2,500 years
The oldest lines date to approximately 500 BCE.
<1 inch/yr
The extreme dryness preserved the lines for millennia.
The Evidence
Giant Geoglyphs
Hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys and other figures form part of a much larger inventory. Large aerial views and smaller ground-level views offer different clues. The Nasca people who made them had no aircraft of any kind.
Cleared Stones
The lines were made by removing dark, iron-oxide-coated surface pebbles to reveal lighter ground beneath. Associated stakes and pottery help connect parts of the landscape with local Paracas and Nasca traditions. Their context matters: an object beside a line is not automatically the same age as the line.
Maria Reiche's Lifework
German mathematician Maria Reiche spent over fifty years studying and protecting the lines. She mapped over a thousand markings and believed they formed an astronomical calendar. Peru gave her a state funeral when she died in 1998.
How the Mystery Unfolded
The Lines Begin
Geoglyphs form part of local Paracas traditions, followed by Nasca traditions. Some figures are visible from hills; size alone cannot date a design.
Changing Communities
Nasca culture develops in the region over many generations. The famous designs cannot all be assigned to a single year or peak period.
The Collapse
Researchers investigate changes in settlement and environmental pressures. Cultural change does not mean that all the region’s people vanished or that every line was abandoned at once.
Mejía Xesspe’s Study
Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejía Xesspe notices the lines while hiking in the foothills. From the ground, they look like paths. He presents his findings in 1939.
Kosok’s Investigation
Paul Kosok investigates the geoglyphs while studying ancient irrigation. He explores possible solar alignments; an alignment proposal needs testing against the full pattern of lines.
The Alien Theory
Erich von Däniken publishes Chariots of the Gods?, claiming the lines are alien landing strips. The book becomes widely popular. Scientists disagree — but the public is captivated.
World Heritage Site
UNESCO designates the Nazca and Palpa Lines as a World Heritage Site, granting them international protection.
AI Discoveries
A 2024 study reports 303 new figures verified through fieldwork. In July 2025, Yamagata University announces 248 further geoglyphs, including 160 figurative designs, bringing its figurative inventory to 893. These are survey findings, not a final count of every mark.
The People in This Story
Maria Reiche
A German mathematician who spent over fifty years studying and protecting the Nazca Lines. She mapped hundreds of figures, slept in the desert to guard them, and believed they were an astronomical calendar. Peru named an airport after her.
Paul Kosok
An American historian whose irrigation research helped bring the geoglyphs wider attention. He investigated their possible astronomical significance.
Erich von Däniken
A Swiss hotel manager who claimed the Nazca Lines were alien landing strips in his 1968 bestseller Chariots of the Gods?. Scientists dismissed the theory, but the book became widely popular and made the lines world-famous.
The Question That Remains
We know who made the lines. We know how. We know when. But we still don't know why.
Were the Nazca Lines an astronomical calendar, a prayer for water, a pilgrimage path, or a message to the gods? After eighty years of investigation, the answer is still genuinely open.
Read the full book to investigate the key clues and competing explanations — then decide for yourself.
Get the Full Book
The complete Nazca Lines mystery. 9 chapters exploring the makers, ground-based methods and new surveys that help test the designs’ purposes.
Part of the Lost Worlds Volume
Ancient cities, remarkable structures, and the communities who built them. Explore the evidence and the living histories behind the ruins.
See all books in this volume →Keep investigating
Check the evidence
What the evidence supports
Local Paracas and Nasca communities made the geoglyph landscape. In July 2025, Yamagata University reported 248 further geoglyphs, including 160 figurative designs, taking its figurative inventory to 893.
Where to be careful
Survey totals depend on definitions and boundaries. Repeated designs beside trails may communicate stories or messages, but a newly recorded figure is not a fully decoded message. Different designs may have had different purposes.
Explore the sources
These selected sources support this guide and offer further reading. Some are written for adults; explore them with a parent or teacher.
- UNESCO: Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa
- Yamagata University: July 2025 survey finds and scoped inventory
- Joe Nickell: first-person account of his 1982 condor experiment
The story and illustrations are modern retellings. Imagined scene details are not historical evidence. These sources are a starting point, not citations for every narrative detail.
Evidence guide reviewed .