geoglyphs

6 Stories

In Chile's Desert, Racers Wreak Havoc on Ancient Art

The geoglyphs in Alto Barranco are being crisscrossed with tire tracks

(Newser) - "This landscape has stayed the same for 25 million years," says archaeologist Gonzálo Pimentel of Chile's Atacama Desert. The blistering sun and scant rain have left the desert little changed until about a thousand years ago, when ancient Indigenous peoples began carving massive geoglyphs—depictions of...

Peru's Nazca Lines Reveal a Massive Cat

Huge feline geoglyph is 2K years old

(Newser) - Peru's Nazca lines are still revealing new geoglyphs. The latest is a huge cat that dates back to 200-100 BC and measures more than 121 feet across, per the Guardian . "The figure was scarcely visible and was about to disappear because it’s situated on quite a steep...

Drones Find Hundreds of Stonehenge-Like Spots in Amazon

More than 450 'geoglyphs' date from around the year 0

(Newser) - Scientists flying drones over the Amazon rainforest in Brazil have found more than 450 "geoglyphs" that are similar in size, structure, and possibly purpose to Stonehenge in England. The earthworks were likely used for public gatherings and rituals, researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...

NASA Gives Best Look at Mysterious Geoglyphs

Some are absolutely massive and thousands of years old

(Newser) - Archaeology enthusiast Dmitriy Dey was watching a television program on pyramids when he decided such things should exist in his native Kazakhstan, as well. The New York Times reports he hopped onto Google Earth to look around a little and stumbled across what could prove to be the oldest earthworks...

How a Drone Could Settle Debate Over the Ancient Amazon

Researchers will scan ground in search of geoglyphs

(Newser) - Experts are divided over how ancient people lived in what is now Brazil, and they're turning to a drone to help them learn the answers. "While some researchers think that Amazonia was inhabited by small bands of hunter-gatherers and shifting cultivators who had a minimal impact on the...

Archaeologists Find Swastika in Kazakhstan Landscape

Google Earth spots more than 50 geoglyphs, including the enormous ancient symbol

(Newser) - Google Earth can be used for more than peeking into your neighbor's backyard: Archaeologists have discovered more than 50 geoglyphs in Kazakhstan, thanks to images from the virtual geographical and map service, reports the International Business Times . Geoglyphs are large designs on the ground, usually created out of mounds...

6 Stories