Pampa de Nasca (Peru): In the midst of the remodeling work being carried out in the Natural Viewpoint, in the Pampa de Nasca, archaeologists from the Nasca-Palpa Management Plan of the Ministry of Culture and the technical personnel in charge of said work, discovered a new figurative geoglyph corresponding to a feline, which had been drawn on one of the slopes of the hill.
The figure was hardly noticeable and was about to pass from sight due to its location on a fairly steep slope and the effects of natural erosion, the ministry stated. While announcing about the finding on October 15, thereafter released the photograph of the figure which was well defined by a line of variable width between 30 and 40 cm, and showed a feline represented with the body in profile and the head in front. This was discovered during the cleaning and conservation of the geoglyph last week.
The horizontal figure is 37 meters long and its stylistic features suggest that it dates from the Late Paracas period. That means that it predates the famous figures of the Nasca Pampa, dating from 100 BC to 200 BC.
While representations of felines of this type were common in the iconography of ceramics and textiles of the Paracas society, this discovery yet again showed the rich and varied cultural legacy that this UNESCO World Heritage site harbors. The Nasca and Palpa Lines and Geoglyphs, well inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994, are one of the most extraordinary and unique works of man. The lines and geoglyphs make up a cultural landscape with deep meaning and symbolism, as they express the magical and religious world of the pre-Hispanic Paracas and Nasca societies, who for more than 1,500 years drew them on the desert sands and mountains. “Today they are testimony to the creative genius of the ancient American settlers, and to the unique concepts and forms of religious expression that they developed throughout their history,” the ministry stated.
It may be mentioned that the Natural Viewpoint corresponds to a rocky hill located in a section of the Nasca Pampa. It got its name because of the numerous straight lines of different width and length (geoglyphs) converged around it that can be visible from the top of the hill.
– globalbihari bureau