| Situated along the coast of Peru, around 250 | | | | people looked back to ancient symbols and |
| miles from Lima, the Nazca Lines encompass an | | | | artifacts as example of extraterrestrial activity, |
| area once occupied by an extremely developed | | | | the Nazca Lines provided one of these examples. |
| society, which adopted advanced farming | | | | One writer suggested that the Lines were |
| methods to allow for irrigation systems, improved | | | | intended as signals to interplanetary visitors. While |
| crops and an expansion of farming land. The | | | | this theory is highly sceptical it displays the |
| Nazca tribe were immensely skilled not only in | | | | interest and mystery surrounding these elusive |
| agricultural techniques but also in art. They | | | | drawings. |
| displayed outstanding skills in weaving, pottery, | | | | The work involved in creating these lines was |
| and architecture, however were sadly unable to | | | | vast. Spanning an area of nearly 500 square km |
| ward off the vicious attacks of the Spanish | | | | and with the largest figure approximately 270m, |
| conquest and were rapidly defeated. Undoubtedly | | | | the Nazca tribesmen embarked on a huge and |
| the most resounding symbol of this ancient tribe | | | | complex task. |
| is the Nazca Lines. | | | | Interestingly the enormity of the Nazca Lines |
| Although the purpose of these ground drawings | | | | took several years to be discovered. Many people |
| has not been fully established many archaeologists | | | | walked along the geoglyphs unaware of the |
| ascribe religious significance to them as the lines | | | | significance of what their feet were touching. |
| are thought to have been attempt by the Nazca | | | | While the lines made for unimpressive and |
| people to display their work to their gods in the | | | | meaningless scribbles at ground level, by plane the |
| sky. Another theory maintains that the lines had | | | | gigantic figures and lines could be fully realised. |
| astronomical and cosmological purposes and that | | | | While the Lines are one of the few surviving |
| they were intended to act as a kind of | | | | reminders of the ancient world many are unsure |
| observatory, to point to the places on the distant | | | | how much longer they will survive. Due to an |
| horizon where the sun and other celestial bodies | | | | increase in pollution and erosion in the area many |
| rose or set. | | | | fear that the Nazca Lines could be gradually |
| An usual conclusion came to the fore in the 1950s | | | | erased. |
| when UFO sightings began to increase. Many | | | | |