My Travels In Peru

Nasca Lines

The Nasca Lines remain one of Peru's biggest mysteries. Who created them? Why did they create them? And what do they represent? They are three of the unanswered questions from Peru's ancient past, one rich in culture and history.

In previous trips to Peru, they had remained below our travel horizon. We had visited museums in Lima that had physical (3-D) models that revealed them to us in detail, and although interesting, they were not compelling. A few years ago I saw a documentary that asked those same questions, but without satisfactory answers. For some reason, those questions persisted in my mind and grew like germinated seeds, creating a strong desire to see them firsthand. While my right brain was saying, "They are just lines on the desert floor – nothing more," my left brain was saying, "They are more than that. People don't undertake such huge projects for no good reason." The left brain won the tug of war; and on the next trip to Peru we made our way from Lima to see this man-made wonder ourselves.

The easiest question to answer is the general who. The Nasca people dominated the area for a long time and the nearest town is called Nasca. Thus, their name refers to both the town and the people who created them. However, not much is known about these ancient people, other than what has been surmised from the bits of pottery that have survived the lootings of grave robbers and the ravages of time. The fact that the Spaniards destroyed all written records when they conquered Peru, means that the answers to the specific who, why, and what may never be known.

The remnants of their past, which have been studied by archaeologists and anthropologists, suggest that the Nasca people were highly skilled potters; and that they were descendants of the Paracas culture that began about one millennium before them. Archaeologists differentiated between the two because of the differences they discerned in the pottery. The Nasca had developed pottery glazing, whereas their ancestors painted designs on the clay objects after they had been fired.

The other known thing about the Nasca is that they were religious people. What did they believe in? Who did they worship?

Like other ancient Peruvian people, they believed in the spirit world. Moreover, they believed that certain mythical creatures, part human and part animal, were the messengers from that world. They depicted these creatures on pottery and on the desert floor. As to the gods, they worshipped the sun, moon, mountains and volcanoes. Being desert people they understood the importance of water, and the mountains that sourced it were sacred places to them.

We arrive in Nasca, a town of about 25,000 people, in the early afternoon. As soon as we step out of the bus, several people want to help us find a place to stay, and sell us tour packages. It's standard practice in tourist towns. The idea is to get the visitors when they are most vulnerable and higher prices can be charged. We normally avoid this type of situation, but this time for some mysterious reason we succumb.

The young sales agent takes us to a nondescript hotel, but not any worse than others we have stayed at on our travels in South America. When we check in I notice an old man sitting motionless, perhaps asleep, in a chair in the small lobby. I presume he's related to the owner, but pay no further attention to him. When we leave for a walk, he's still there in the same position and is still there when we return. I'm curious and say hello to him not expecting any response, but to my surprise, he lifts his head and exchanges the greeting. After some small chat about the weather, curiosity got the better of me. I tell him that we're going to see the Nasca lines in the morning, and ask him if he could tell us something about them.

"What would you like to know?" he asks.

I say, "There are three questions that nobody has answers to: Who built them? Why? And what do they represent?"

His calm reply is, "You haven't asked the right person."

"There are people that know the answers?" I mutter excitedly.