In the Nazca desert , Peru , sit a aggregation of vast drawing engrave into the soil by theNazca culturebetween 500 BCE and 500 CE . Known as theNazca lines , they were made by carving depression into the desert floor by removing pebbles and grease , revealing a lighter color soil beneath the reddish - brownish surface . Also known asgeoglyphs , the etching are mostly line of credit that run straight across the landscape , but some depict plants , animals , andhuman - likesubjects . Despite being commit to the ground thousands of eld ago , they are largely preserved with remarkable clearness thanks to a sub - layer in the grime that contains large amounts of lime . This layer hardens with exposure to moistness from rain or morning mist , protect the etchings from wearing away ( though it could n’t write them from alost hand truck driverorGreenpeace ) .
Now , a new Nazca line etch has been give away just as it was on the verge of disappearing due to its position on a particularly extortionate slope , which made it more vulnerable to erosion than most of the geoglyphs . The tremendous felid - pep up etching had lain in secret until a late task to rear a new path precede to an observation platform was launched . Peru’sMinistry of Cultureannounced it has been cleaned and preserved , give away a rather undress - back depiction of a cat .
Now before you go passing perspicacity , may I ask : when was the last prison term you engrave a 37 - m ( 121 - foot ) creature into the earth , huh ? Yeah , did n’t think so . According to a report fromEFE news agency , Johny Isla , Peru ’s chief archeologist for the Nazca lines , said that the geoglyph computerized axial tomography actually predates the Nazca refinement , instead place it within the late Paracas era around 500 BCE to 200 CE , making the computed axial tomography the honest-to-god of the geoglyphs in the sphere . Suddenly the three - golf hole - for - a - facial expression felid does n’t seem like such a paltry achievement .
" The figure was scarcely seeable and was about to disappear because it ’s posit on quite a steep slope that ’s prone to the effects of natural erosion , ” said Peru ’s Culture Ministry in astatement . " The discovery shows , once again , the rich and wide-ranging ethnic legacy of this site . "
Exactly why these ancient civilizations went to such trouble to etch enormous symbol on the trading floor is n’t eff for sure , but researchers have theorized that they may have serve as locomotion markers or been intend for the viewing delight of divinity in the sky . After all , who among us , divine or deadly , doesn’tlove true cat .
