Researchers have discovered a new cat-like geoglyph near the world-famous Nazca Lines in Peru.
The 37 meter long representation almost disappeared due to its location on a steep slope and natural erosion. The cat-like floor drawing was probably made in southern Peru between 800 BC and 600 AD. Researchers have uncovered them again.
The discovery was made during maintenance work at a visitor site in an already popular tourist hotspot in the Pampa de Jumana region and is now part of the world-famous Nazca Lines. These show, among other things, animals, people and plants as well as geometric figures.
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In some cases the lines are up to 20 kilometers long. The shapes are particularly easy to see from the air or from some hills in the region. The Nazca scratch images were created by removing the upper layers of rock, revealing the lighter layer of sediment underneath.
Why the pictures were taken remains a mystery to this day. The geoglyphs may have served ceremonial purposes such as fearfulness rituals. Numerous settlement remains with burials and some even well-preserved mummies were found in the region. In total, over 1,500 of these floor drawings are known, which were declared a World Heritage Site in 1994 as the Nazca Lines.
Depictions of cats like this were not so rare in ancient Peru. They were often found on textiles and ceramics from the South American Paracas and Topará cultures. The Topará is considered a transitional culture between Paracas and Nazca.
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Sources: ORF , Zeit im Bild , Spiegel
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