I found this extremely striking in comparison to the latest
Mars photos showing water flow. The author David Johnson calls
his photo "the runway". Hmmm, I wonder why? Could this be just
one more sign of a connection between Mars and Earth. Does ancient
text of our Peruvian ancestors speak of such a link? ~Mitch
Battros
By Hillary Mayell National Geographic News
 |
| The lines etched by the ancient Nasca people into the
Peruvian desert thousands of years ago may prove to be maps
of the faults that serve as conduits for groundwater. |
The mysterious
lines etched into the Peruvian desert thousands of years ago have
puzzled scientists since archaeologists first stumbled across
them in the 1920s. Numerous theories have been proffered to explain
them, some quite bizarre, suggesting the lines are landing strips
for aliens or giant astronomical calendars. Others are speculative;
the lines and drawings depict clan symbols or served as pathways
for ancient peoples making their way to ceremonial or religious
sites
A team of
scientists from the University of Massachusetts has found evidence
that at least some of the lines mark underground sources of water.
The designs
include pictures of birds, mammals, and geometric shapes. Built
into the arid landscape by the Nasca, an agricultural people living
in the coastal desert region of Peru from about 100 B.C. to 600
A.D., the meaning of the birds and mammals remains elusive. But
David Johnson, an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts,
suggests that the hydrology of the region could explain the mysterious
geometric lines of Nasca.
"I was
working on a project to identify water sources for the local residents,"
says Johnson, "when I had my initial breakthrough. I realized
geological faults were conducting groundwater from the Andes across
the desert to the Pacific coast. Numerous faults can be observed
intersecting the valleys, and where they do, often water can be
seen entering the valley via springs and seeps, which the Nasca
marked using geoglyphs."
"It's
a new interpretation of the hydrology of the area."
BIOMORPHS
AND GEOGLYPHS
The vast desert
etchings are known as biomorphs and geoglyphs. Biomorphs are stylized
depictions of birds and mammals. Geoglyphs are lines forming zigzags,
spirals, triangles, and other geometric figures.
The ancients
etched the lines into the surface of the desert by removing surface
rocks and pebbles, which due to their exposure to the elements
are a dark rust color, to reveal the lighter sand beneath. The
rocks and pebbles in many cases were piled along the edges of
the lines. The area is one of the driest places on earth, receiving
less than 1 inch (2 centimeters) of rain annually.
Johnson hypothesizes
that in order to live in such a harsh environment, where water
flows in the river only a few weeks of the year, the lives of
the ancient peoples of the valley depended upon finding alternative
sources of potable water.
To test his
theory, he brought in hydrogeologist Stephen B. Mabee and archaeologist
Donald Proulx, both from the University of Massachusetts.
TRACING WATER
THROUGH FAULTS
"This
is a new way of looking at some of the lines," says Proulx,
who specializes in Nasca culture. "It takes into account
the lack of water, and how the ancients dealt with that, the geology
of the area, and the geoglyphs. We're in the infancy of testing,
but we've been able to associate many of the lines with geological
faults, springs, and seeps."
"It's
not at all unusual for water to travel perpendicular to a valley,"
says hydrogeologist Mabee. "Faults are commonly major conduits
for water. At one of the sites (in Peru) we found a spring 20
meters (66 feet) above the floor of the river valley that was
discharging water at a constant rate year round. This was in an
area that gets 0.3 millimeters (0.01 inches) of rain in a year,
and there's surface water — water in the river— for
just two weeks of the year. There's just no way it could be from
a source other than groundwater."
"At the
two sites we've investigated in detail, we have the geochemistry,
flow data and geophysics to the hilt. The biggest criticism of
the hypothesis so far has been that it hasn't been tested statistically,
and that's what we're doing now," says Mabee.
Two graduate
students are mapping all the known springs and seeps in the valley,
along with all identified faults. These will be overlaid with
the known geoglyphs; computer models will be used to determine
whether the geoglyphs, fault lines, and water sources are statistically
correlated.
"So far
we've been happy with the correlations," says Proulx. "We
certainly aren't saying all the lines are mapping faults; some
are probably ritual pathways and mystical beings. But the data
we have so far is very promising."
Fieldwork
in Peru has been partially funded by a University of Massachusetts
Healy grant, the National Geographic Society, and the H. John
Heinz Charitable Trust.
|
