Name: Nazca Desert Mystery
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NOVA

One of the world’s greatest ancient enigmas, the Nazca lines are a dense network of criss-crossing lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures etched across 200 square miles of Peruvian desert. Who created them and why? Ever since they were rediscovered in the 1920s, scholars and enthusiasts have raised countless theories about their purpose.

Who created the Nazca lines and why? New clues to one of the greatest ancient enigmas.

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Nazca Desert Mystery

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The Nazca were an ancient group of farmers and fishermen that used desert plateaus as a canvas for giant geoglyphs. But some of these drawings pre-date the Nazca. Who created them and why?

Learn more about the ancient Nazca people and their ancestors, the Paracas.

Who Carved These Mysterious Lines in the Desert?

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Aerial video of Nazca insect etched in brown desert plains

One of the world’s greatest ancient enigmas, the Nazca lines are a dense network of criss-crossing lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures etched across 200 square miles of Peruvian desert. Who created them and why? Ever since they were rediscovered in the 1920s, scholars and enthusiasts have raised countless theories about their purpose. Now, archaeologists have discovered hundreds of long-hidden lines and figures as well as evidence of ancient rituals, offering new clues to the origins and motivations behind the giant desert symbols. (Premiered November 2, 2022)

Who created the Nazca lines and why? New clues to one of the greatest ancient enigmas.

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Nazca Desert Mystery

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Explore More

LIDAR Technology Helps Uncover a Maya Metropolis

Peru’s Nazca Line etchings depict bird species not native to the area

Materials that changed history

PHOTOS: Huge, ancient animals carved into Peru’s hills

Who Carved These Mysterious Lines in the Desert?

First Face of America

Nazca Desert Mystery

Artificial Intelligence Reveals Ancient Desert Drawings