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The Nazca Lines "Needle and Thread" drawing begins at the left
of the figure as a wide beam; the beam is focused to a line as
it moves right the "needle"; the Nazca people then use an
oscillatory motion to delineate the borders of a plateau; and
ends up drawing a spiral, a common motif at ancient sites.
The Nazca or Nasca lines are groups of large line drawings and
figures that appear, from a distance, to be etched into the
earth's surface on the arid Pampa Colorada northwest of the city
of Nazca in southern Peru. Since their discovery in the 1920s,
the lines have been variously interpreted, but their
significance remains largely shrouded in mystery.
The Nazca lines were constructed
more than 2,000 years ago by the people of the Nazca culture (c.
200 BC–AD 600).
Nazca culture: A pre-Incan civilization that
flourished on the southern coast of Peru from about 200
B.C. to about A.D. 600, known for its polychrome vessels
decorated with stylized designs and for the enormous
drawings of geometric and zoomorphic forms etched in the
desert floor 200 miles south of Lima.
Size comparison:
The Empire State Building was built in 1931 and is 1,250
feet tall. By comparison the Nazca lines - "Needle and
Thread" (see above) is 2,800 feet long.
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