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The Nazca lines (, ) are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.

They were created between 500 BC and 500 AD by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and leaving different-colored dirt exposed. There are two major phases of the Nazca lines, Paracas phase, from 400 to 200 BC, and Nazca phase, from 200 BC to 500 AD. In the 21st century, several hundred new figures have been found with the use of drones, and archaeologists believe that there are more to be found. Most lines run straight across the landscape, but there are also figurative designs of animals and plants. The combined length of all the lines is more than 1,300 km (800 mi), and the group covers an area of about 50 km2 (19 sq mi). The lines are typically 10 to 15 cm (4–6 in) deep. The width of the lines varies considerably, but more than half are slightly more than 33 cm (13 in) wide. Some of the Nazca lines form shapes that are best seen from the air (at around 500 m ), although they are also visible from the surrounding foothills and other high places. Hundreds are simple lines and geometric shapes; more than 70 are zoomorphic designs, including a hummingbird, arachnid, fish, condor, heron, monkey, lizard, dog, cat, and a human.

The first published mention of the Nazca Lines was by Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León in his 1553 book, where he described them as trail markers. Kosok began to study how the lines might have been created, as well as to try to determine their purpose. Schaedel from the United States, and Maria Reiche, a German mathematician and archaeologist from Lima, to try to determine the purpose of the Nazca Lines. Archaeologists, historians, and mathematicians have all tried to determine the purpose of the lines. Scholars have theorized that the Nazca people could have used simple tools and surveying equipment to construct the lines. Joe Nickell, an American investigator of the paranormal, religious artifacts, and folk mysteries, reproduced the figures in the early twenty-first century by using the same tools and technology that would have been available to the Nazca people. The very dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region has preserved the lines well. They note that birds are the animals most frequently depicted in the Nazca geoglyphs. The discovery of 143 new geoglyphs on the Nazca Pampa and in the surrounding area was announced in 2019 by Yamagata University and IBM Japan. In 2024, a team of archaeologists from the Yamagata University's Nazca Institute, in collaboration with IBM Research, used artificial intelligence (AI) to discover 303 previously unknown geoglyphs depicting parrots, cats, monkeys, killer whales, and even severed heads near the Nazca Lines in Peru.

Henri Stierlin, a Swiss art historian specializing in Egypt and the Middle East, published a book in 1983 linking the Nazca Lines to the production of ancient textiles that archeologists have found wrapping mummies of the Paracas culture. This theory is not widely accepted, although scholars have noted similarities in patterns between the textiles and the Nazca Lines.

Däniken claimed that the Nazca lines site reflected visits by astronauts from other worlds, who became the creators of ancient civilizations.

He said, "he mudslides and heavy rains did not appear to have caused any significant damage to the Nazca Lines". In 2025, the Ministry of Culture ordered a 42% reduction in the land area of the Nazca lines reserve from about 5,600 square kilometers to roughly 3,200 square kilometers, citing updated archeological studies.

The Paracas culture is considered by some historians to be the possible precursor that influenced the development of the Nazca Lines. Many predate the associated Nazca lines by a thousand years.

The following are images of some of the Nazca lines.

Quick Facts

• There are two major phases of the Nazca lines, Paracas phase, from 400 to 200 BC, and Nazca phase, from 200 BC to 500 AD.
• Some of the Nazca lines form shapes that are best seen from the air (at around 500 m ), although they are also visible from the surrounding foothills and other high places.
• Schaedel from the United States, and Maria Reiche, a German mathematician and archaeologist from Lima, to try to determine the purpose of the Nazca Lines.
• The lines are typically 10 to 15 cm (4–6 in) deep.
• Most lines run straight across the landscape, but there are also figurative designs of animals and plants.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Nazca lines". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.