Abstract
The known hypotheses about the reasons why the geoglyphs in the Nasca and Palpa region of Peru were created are many: roads/paths, rituals/ceremonials, use of hallucinogens, astronomical meaning, influence of extraterrestrials, underground water… and so on. We present a new hypothesis, formulated by J. Sonnek (first published in 2011) in the context of all previous hypotheses.1 Sonnek explains the geoglyphs as tidied work areas for the production of rope and nets, although he goes much further than Stierlin. This eccentric hypothesis now has not only experimental but also archaeological and ethnographical support, which is presented here. Geoglyphs of a special shape were discovered in the pampas; they may represent technical objects – different types of ‘rope twisters’. Following this idea, Sonnek made technical devices (using today’s materials) and tested them in practice; they work perfectly, see his YouTube videos.2 In November 2012, wooden pieces, which may be the remnants of ropemaking, were collected from the pampa near the towns of Nasca and Palpa, in vicinity of these hypothetic ropemaking places. Radiocarbon testing by 14C standardized radio-carbon age according to Stuiver-Polach convention and Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (AMS) of these wood pieces shows the age to be in a wide range from Early Nasca to the 17th century (and to our epoch with a fake geoglyph, too), thus supporting (but surely not proving) the new hypothesis. Moreover, in the Quechua language, the word huasca, waskha (read: uasca) means a rope or cord or place where these are produced. This word is very similar to ‘nasca’.
Highlights
The geoglyphs on the pampas near the town of Nasca and nearby town of Palpa in Peru have long been known to our civilization, since the research of Toribio Mejia Xesspe and the beginning of commercial flights from Lima to southern parts of Peru, which have attracted the attention of both scientists and ‘independent researchers’
The geoglyphs were mostly made by the Nascanian people by removing the dark surface layer of the desert varnish to reveal the pale, ‘sandy’ subsoil
We cannot explain all the existing and widely acknowledged work done by Xesspe, Kosok, Reiche, Silverman, Schreiber, Browne, Clarkson, Aveni, Urton, Lambers, Ruggles, Teichert, Richter and others, who discuss the geoglyphs in an Andean and landscape context
Summary
The geoglyphs (figures and geometrical shapes) on the pampas (desert) near the town of Nasca and nearby town of Palpa in Peru have long been known to our civilization, since the research of Toribio Mejia Xesspe (see [9, 12, 21]) and the beginning of commercial flights from Lima to southern parts of Peru, which have attracted the attention of both scientists and ‘independent researchers’. We present here a new, very unusual and ‘technical’ hypothesis, that of Sonnek [17]. It does not contradict most of the preceding hypotheses, but brings a practical perspective for the reasons why the geoglyphs were made. We provide supporting arguments for the validity of this new and surprising hypothesis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
