The mysterious Nazca Lines likely marked roads and trails

The function and meaning behind the Nazca Lines is a mystery that has intrigued scientists for decades. Now, a group of Japanese researchers think so It would have been a way to mark paths and paths.

These lines are a collection of hundreds of geometric shapes of animals, people, or plants that are found in a vast desert in the Ica region south of Lima, Made by the Nazca culture (1st-7th centuries) whose function and meaning remain unclear.

Masato Sakairesearcher at Yamagata University (western Japan), leads a group dedicated to studying these mysterious lines that he discovered, with the help of Local archaeologists, aerial photos and dronesover 350 numbers since 2004.

Sakai explains that they exist Two types of charactersthose of the linear type (such as the well-known hummingbird) that have been manufactured Remove the upper black stones to reveal the white ground below; And the kind of relief that Combine several dimensions to make a number.

“Those who linear type They are found at the beginning and end of straight paths and can be used for travel From one valley to another about 20 kilometers, while from one valley Relief type They are next to tracks that are usually not straight drawn on the slopeit states.

Traditionally, some hypotheses have predicted that the Nazca Lines were fantastic Astronomical calendarOther experts think they were religious figures And some ophthalmologists who were, too Alien spacecraft landing strips.

Civilization without letters

For this Japanese researcher, the focus of his attention has always been on Letters and Alphabetsso I wanted to know how this civilization Communicate without relying on these systems.

“I’m interested in Letters. Everyone uses alphabets, but in the Andean civilization they did not have that contact methodSo I wanted to know how they did it. My interest was a Civilization without lettersHe points to.

Despite their age, these are famous personalities It was not discovered until the 1930’s Because the flat surface of the desert only allowed the designs to be seen in their entirety from the air or from some of the surrounding hills.

The most represented characters are known as Spider, monkey and hummingbirdplus condor, pelican, seagull, snail, whale, snake and llama, plus others They represent plants or human figures.

New frontiers with artificial intelligence

When these Japanese researchers started the project, they relied primarily on it Satellite or aerial photosHowever, in recent years they have also managed to merge Droneswhich helped find hundreds of characters.

Since 2019, they have also signed an agreement with Technology giant IBMwhose artificial intelligence (AI) can help Reveal the location of more characters This, in turn, discovers other hypotheses about its true meaning.

“when you find out Location From these figures we can understand What was the experience of these people when crossing these areas. Always It’s a hypothesisbut we hope that with artificial intelligence we will be able to check whether it is correct or come up with the best match new datasays the expert.

You find all the numbers that according to the expert can exceed a thousand It is key to being able to preserve it from the climate and from economic activities in the region, such as mining or farming.

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For the Nazca people, Geoglyphs are a pride Because the city is not that big, but many people come to see the numbers. When we find new We share information with the local population Because we know they will respect and defend them from then on It is the work of your ancestorsThe researcher concludes.