World News – US – New Nazca Line geoglyph discovered: 120-foot-long cat

Archaeologists have discovered a gigantic cat geoglyph adorning a hill in southern Peru, making it the last of the Nazca Lines – a group of mysterious and enormous man-made outlines animals, plants and fantastic characters in the desert dating from pre-Columbian times – to be discovered in recent years, according to Peru’s Ministry of Culture

The kitty, which looks like the most gigantic children’s doodle of all time, was found as archaeologists at the Nazca-Palpa Management Plan, backed by the Ministry of Culture, reshaped a natural perspective in the Pampas de Nazca, according to an Oct 15 Ministry statement

At first, workers could barely see the cat, as natural erosion on the hillside had almost erased the ancient silhouette of the feline.However, after about a week of conservation, archaeologists restored the geoglyph, which dates from around 200 BC and 100 BC, according to the ministry

Like the other Nazca Lines – including an ape, a killer whale, a hummingbird, and a humanoid – the cat is so huge it’s best seen from above, like from an airplane or a drone. Of the cat are between 12 and 16 inches (30 and 40 centimeters) wide and the entire feline is approximately 121 feet (37 meters) long

The style of the cat – i.e. a profile with the head turned towards the viewer – indicates that it was made at the end of the Paracas period (the Paracas culture predated the Nazca culture, which started around 100 BCC, Live Science previously reported) In addition, the Paracas culture is well known for its depictions of felines on its ceramics and textiles, the ministry reported.

The Nazca Lines are recognized on the World Heritage List organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) The majority of known Nazca Lines date from 200 BC and Aré 500 , but older lines, made of stacked stones, date back to 500 BC, Live Science previously reported

In recent years, researchers have found between 80 and 100 previously unknown geoglyphs in the Nazca and Palpa valleys, all of which predate the Nazca culture, archaeologist Johny Isla, director of the lines conservation mission de Nazca to the Ministry of Culture, says The Guardian « These are smaller, drawn on the hillsides and clearly belong to an earlier tradition, » he said

“It may seem surprising that new models are still being found, but we know there are more,” Isla told local press, according to the Evening Standard. years, the use of drones, which allows us to take pictures of hillsides, makes this possible « 

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Peru, Nazca lines, cat, geoglyph