Nazca Lines: Did Mysterious Aliens Appear In The Desert Thousands Of Years Ago?

Theories of ancient aliens have grown in pop culture in recent years, from interpretations of mysterious humanoid creatures to seemingly-high-tech devices in ancient artwork. Aside from Egypt, nowhere offers a more fascinating source to the ancient alien theorist than the Nazca lines. These strange patterns in South American desert land appear to depict humanoids of alarming similarity to iconic aliens of science fiction, as well as a myriad of other baffling designs.

Do the Nazca lines hold secrets of an extraterrestrial past on Earth? Were these giant desert drawings created by aliens? Let’s look at the evidence, and figure out who, or what, was behind these mysterious works of art.

What Are The Nazca Lines?

In the wastelands of the Southern Peruvian desert lie a series of large geoglyphs, drawings in the ground, usually formed by purposefully drawing in the dirt over a large area, to create an image. There are 2 differing types of geoglyphs that can be seen.

First, a network of hundreds of seemingly random geometric forms, from trapezoids to elongated lines that zigzag across the ground. The second form of geoglyphs at Nazca are the biomorph or life form types that this article will focus on.

These form various fascinating shapes, such as animals, insects and humanoid figures. The humanoids in particular have received a lot of attention for their oddly-astronautical appearance. With bulbous eyes, a waving hand and what some have determined to be a space-suit, this geoglyph and others like it have earned the attention of conspiracy theorists and hardcore academics alike.

As the Nazca Lines cover miles, it's much harder to make out the details of most of the creations from the ground so taking to the skies is the best way to see them. Not only are the geoglyphs incredibly large, but they were also built over a large period of time: the oldest of them are estimated to be nearly 2,500 years old, and they were created over the course of a few hundred years, at least.

This level of construction couldn't be done overnight, after all, especially not by a relatively-primitive people like the Nazca, who inhabited the area during this period. To create such a huge image that can be seen from the air, different kinds of dirt are brushed away to leave a clear, lasting image. The method is perfectly suited to the Nazca desert which receives some of the least rainfall and wind of anywhere on Earth.

Excess wind or rain would have wiped away any evidence of these ground drawings within just a few years. The specific conditions of this environment have allowed the messages to be almost supernaturally preserved, so that it can be shared thousands of years later.

Who Drew The Nazca Lines?

Who were the hillside Picassos responsible for these seemingly-immortal works of art? And what on Earth do the drawings mean? Researchers have long-insisted that the lines were created by the Nazca peoples, the inhabitants of this stretch of south-Peruvian desert land from 200BCE up until 500CE.

But according to newer theories that are gaining momentum, many of the drawings depicting animal and humanoid forms were created by peoples even more ancient than the Nazca. Namely the Chavin and Paracas cultures, who predated the Nazca people in the region.

The Paracas, in particular, are thought to have etched figures into specific hillsides that could be viewed from villages in the valleys below. As for the enigmatic lines that divide the desert, these are thought to be purely the work of the Nazca people. And while these remain the most enigmatic of all, the entire collection has garnered some crazy alternative theories.

The most outlandish theory is that the drawings were either made by extraterrestrials, or that the Nazca people made them under the direction of alien visitors. Part of what people perceive to be the strongest evidence towards this most extreme theory is the unusual appearance and composition of the shapes.

While some are quite normal, depicting mammals, birds and other terrestrial life forms, others are more enigmatic. Some of the Nazca Lines have strange designs that don't seem to match up with any known Earthly flora or fauna. One of the most iconic of them supposedly depicts a human, but the E.T.-like head shape and eyes certainly bring the classic grey alien to mind.

Some interpreters see the figure as an astronaut, complete with a space-suit and helmet, part of a wider time-travel conspiracy with foundations in Ancient Egypt! Others perceive this friendly humanoid as simply an exaggerated sketch of a regular human being. Other images appear to depict entities and structures of an incomprehensible nature. For instance, what's the orca in the image below doing in the middle of the desert, over a thousand kilometers away from the closest location water killer whales have been sighted?

Could these be self-portraits of galactic explorers far-removed from our conceptions of what sentient life looks like? Or perhaps the alien equivalent of an inappropriate sketch in a teenager’s textbook? Or might these be Nazca observations, sketching what they saw when extraterrestrials visited them millennia ago? There’s little evidence to back up these wild claims. But, there are few convincing analyses of these more obscure glyphs.

Theories Behind The Mystery

While the outlandish theories are certainly exciting, the main issue comes with the very nature of art. Art styles aren't standardized across the world, even today; let alone in ancient cultures. Humans have always been experts at abstract interpretations of our surroundings, which has served us well. Just look at the little green and red men at crosswalks, humans don’t actually glow; it’s just a representation that holds symbolic, cultural meaning.

Non-realistic, symbolic representations may offer an explanation for some of the more puzzling among the Nazca geoglyphs. The exaggerated, spiraling tail of the monkey, and the double tail of the dog are good examples of this. Some fringe theorists suggest that these embellishments hold meaning of their own, and are numerically tied in some way to stellar arrangements.

But just because we tend to use abstract depictions, doesn’t necessarily mean that the Nazca did. It could just be their form of artistic expression. Could the skinny, bug-eyed humanoid geoglyph actually be a depiction of ancient alien visitors who visited Earth thousands of years ago for some mysterious purpose? That's not impossible either.

Considering the possible billions of Earth-like planets in the near-infinite expanse of the universe, raw numbers point towards the idea that aliens could exist, rather than not. But, the matter of us being visited remains a huge source of contention, due to insufficient conclusive evidence. Without the Nazca being around for us to ask, we may never know for sure.

Whether or not these were drawings of alien visitors, who were the Nazca creating these artworks for? And how did these desert-dwellers forge such enormous, yet precise, works of art without the luxury of a bird’s eye view?

Much of Peru is mountainous, but the Nazca desert is a much flatter section of land. While there is evidence that the Paracas culture enjoyed their hillside designs from valley settlements, it’s hard to deny the difficulty of constructing the Nazca Lines without the ability to see them from up high.

Some people argue that this is evidence for the extraterrestrial theory. According to ancient alien enthusiasts, the Nazca could have been making the drawings under the guidance of aliens, who provided aerial instructions from their UFOs.

Or, more disturbingly, perhaps the Nazca people were forced to create these images under strict and threatening instructions from their alien overlords. The lines could be an intentional warning to future humans who would develop flight technology, warning of the aliens‘ presence, and maybe even telling us to prepare for their return. Though aliens may be a little far-fetched, sky-bound entities in general are a very likely audience, but more on that later.

Arguments against this ancient alien theory are put forward by the likes of veteran paranormal investigator, Joe Nickell, who found that the Nazca lines could actually be made and reproduced without aerial guidance using simple tools and surveying equipment like wooden stakes joined to ropes.

The very same tools, in fact, that were available to the Nazca, thousands of years ago. This doesn't refute the fact that they are best appreciated from in the air, but it does show that they can be made without the guidance of little green men in the sky, at the very least.

Yet, the purpose of the lines remains mysterious. Due to the inherently interpretative nature of defining ancient artists‘ intentions, countless explanations have been put forward about these strange, elusive geoglyphs in Southern Peru. One seemingly-plausible theory was that the lines were actually a primitive irrigation system, used to channel water for agriculture.

Unfortunately, this doesn't line up with a lot of the other evidence that we have about the area: even for a more technologically-advanced civilization, it would be incredibly hard to carry out any kind of agriculture in the arid desert, irrigation system or not.

Another theory suggests that the lines were some form of astronomical calendar. They may have been designed to track the date and the passing of time by tracking the position of stars in the sky. One notable supporting example is the Spider, which may be a depiction of the Orion constellation, with each leg supposedly pointing in the direction of one of Orion’s stars. However, the astrological theory has also been widely-dismissed, as only a small number of the geoglyphs appear to correspond with solar, lunar and stellar alignments.

But if we assume that aliens didn't make them, they weren't irrigation systems, and weren't huge astronomical calendars, what's the best explanation behind their existence? The best-supported theory suggests that the geoglyphs were made for ritual and spiritual purposes, by the ancient peoples of what is now Southern Peru and the Nazca desert.

Religion holds a lot of weight historically as the primary driver of the work and effort necessary for huge, collective endeavors like these. There are few forces powerful enough to unite primitive humans to perform a task on this scale besides shared religious beliefs.

This theory is supported by the existence of ancient sites like Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe, which is similarly-free from signs of permanent settlement and was seemingly-erected thousands of years ago for the sole purpose of celebratory religious gatherings.

But what kind of religious significance were the Nazca lines created for? As previously discussed, the Nazca desert is one of the most isolated, barren areas on the planet. The amount of rainfall rarely rises above 4 millimeters per year, while the average temperature rarely falls below 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s a harsh existence, right there. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the main motivators of the religious driving force behind the drawings was water.

Water, fertility, rain, and essentially an easier existence was what the ancient Nazca people were praying for. It's the most widely-supported and believed explanation for the lines: that they were created out of desperation and desire for more water and a better life.

Research suggests there was a time when land around the Nazca desert was used for agriculture, but rather dramatically, water dried up and the land became infertile. Perhaps by depicting creatures from more forgiving, hydrated climates, like whales and monkeys, they hoped to trigger a suitable response from the heavens?

But the drawings alone, apparently, weren’t enough. Disturbing evidence suggests the Nazca lines were closely connected with ritual sacrifice. Multiple bodies have been found near the sites of the geoglyphs, and the arrangements in which they were found have all the calling cards of ritual sacrifice: severed, mummified heads and decorated corpses can be found, among other tell-tale indicators. People were likely sacrificed following wars, and in desperate pleas to the gods to provide some relief from the harsh conditions the Nazca people found themselves struggling in.

Research by anthropologist Anthony Aveni noted that of the hundreds of straight lines seen around formations, they tend to converge at over 60 "ray centers", forming a network around the artistic creatures. This suggests they were ritual pathways, meant to be walked on and perhaps used for pilgrimage to these sacred locations.

So, for the Nazca, the evidence truly suggests that the beings in the sky were indeed there, only, they were gods, not aliens. But whether the Nazca lines were made by ancient aliens, by the Nazca peoples, or by cultures and tribes even older than them, one thing is for certain: they offer a unique, mysterious insight into South America’s heritage, and humanity in general.

People will likely continue to study them for decades to come, hoping to finally unearth their secrets. All signs point toward further enlightenment in the future, with the discovery of 50 new geoglyphs during a single 2018 exploratory mission. If the next discovery says "phone home“, you have full permission to freak out.

I hope you were amazed at the mystery of the Nazca lines and the possible theories. Thanks for reading.