At a Glance
- Researchers studied satellite images and field data to identify the symbols created by an ancient civilization.
- The figures are the latest to be uncovered in a cluster known as the Nazca Lines.
- Some are more than 300 feet in size.
Researchers aided by high-tech tools have discovered more than 140 geoglyphs – giant symbols drawn on the ground by a centuries-old civilization – at a site in southern Peru.
The figures are the latest to be uncovered in a cluster known as the Nazca Lines (sometimes spelled Nasca), part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers nearly 300 square miles. The site is covered in massive symbols dating back to at least between 100 BC and 300 AD.
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The symbols represent common figures like snakes, fish, flowers and people. They are so massive that they can only be seen in their entirety from above, according to Science Alert, and scientists believe they may have been created by ancient peoples as a sign to gods in the heavens above. Some are larger than 300 feet in size.
The symbols at the World Heritage Site are considered the most prominent group of geoglyphs in the world and are unmatched in their size and diversity, according to UNESCO.
The new discovery was announced in a press release from Yamagata University and IBM Japan (IBM is the parent company of The Weather Company). Scientists from the Japanese university spent the past 14 years studying the site, and used high-resolution satellite imagery to identify the new symbols. One image in particular was found using IBM Power Systems servers and an artificial intelligence-based big data platform called IBM PAIRS Geoscope, the first time such technology has been used to identify geoglyphs.
"These geoglyphs depicted people and many different animals (including birds, monkeys, fish, snakes, foxes, felines and camelids)," the joint press release said. "All of these figures were created by removing the black stones that cover the land, thereby exposing the white sand beneath."
Yamagata University and IBM plan to continue to study the data produced by field work to map the entire site.
"In this way, the joint research project will accelerate work in creating a location map that covers the entire Nasca Pampa," the press release said. "The university seeks to utilize this location map to continue in efforts for preserving the Nasca Lines. ... By gaining a detailed understanding on where the figures are located and when they were used, researchers aim to attain a closer look into the worldview of the people who made and used these geoglyphs."
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