The Lines of Nazca

From the height of an airplane circling over the Pampa Ingenio in Southern Peru, one may see the ground drawings which have puzzled scientists since their discovery in the 1930s. Etched across the landscape are lines and lifelike drawings depicting monkeys, birds, fish and spiders. The pre-Incaic Nazca people made these geoglypha. After several years of investigation, Aveni and his team of researchers have asembled their results here for the first time. These include a complete description and statistical analysis of the Nazca features, the surface archaeology of the pampa and the nearby ceremonial center of Cahuachi, and the relationship between the lines and pan-Andean systems of social organization. Illustrations. Photomozaic fold-out map.