When I went to Peru I did a flight experience over the lines as they have a little airport nearby (obviously). Would really recommend to anyone going to that part of the world. The scale of them is mind-blowing.
@@thomaswatson1995 it was with Peru Hop I believe. We went to some tourist office/shop in Lima and saw the package advertised randomly. Included the coach out of Lima to Huacachina (a desert oasis) where you did sand boarding and dune buggy riding, then on to the lines for your flight (flight was around an hour in small planes). Overall was a round trip of a few days and the price was stupidly good value. If the package is still available I’d recommend.
Any time archeologists can't find an easy answer for an object or site, they immediately say it was used for ritual. What if the Nazca lines were made as a yearly competition by the local peoples to decide which local lord would be the next year's king? Or if they were made to celebrate the birth of an important figure? Or they could have been used as a way to prevent war. Or one local lord decided he was an artist and got his people to make one, then the other lords were like 'that's super impressive, I want one to' and it just kind of got out of hand.
Ockham's Razor tends to make your suggestion less likely. Ritual/spiritual/religious activities were a much bigger part of society in times past, though don't underestimate its importance today, despite modern Western societies being relatively secular.
@@owenshebbeare2999 I think religion/spirituality makes more sense when it comes to massive projects such as this. It’s something large amounts of people can easily come together to dedicate time and energy to.
It could be a calendar. It could be an appeal to the god/gods to return the described animals to the area, could be a way of marking one year to another like a harvest feast or new year celebration, could represent the formation of a new tribe, could represent important events within the society. Sadly, we will probably never know.
All of those things would be encompassed under the explanation "ritual". They're all rituals. You're just being more specific. These are all speculation though and impossible to prove; what test / what evidence would you use to confirm any of these hypotheses? That's why anthropologists/archaeologists are vague and just say "ritual".
Ever since I first watched Yugioh 5Ds, wherein the Nazca Lines were the sealed forms of ancient demons, I've found them fascinating and only wonder what the ancients intended for them.
@@ghislainedidntkillherself actually, the hummingbird was one of them, named "Earthbound Immortal Aslla Piscu". Also, the condor, the monkey, the spider, the lizard, the less scary orca, and the giant.
Dude when i saw actual images of Nazca lines i thought "holy shit its actually real, am i gonna get eaten by a gigantic glowing lizard?" But im sure as hell glad i got interested in these kinds of stuff.
I’ve watched so many videos about the Nazca lines but not once have I heard anyone address the elephant in the room…..what was the purpose of them being so huge? Think about it, we in 2023 can only truly observe a great majority of them by drone videos or planes. Can we all just admit that it is an astonishing mystery and that anything is possible.
I saw a documentary years ago that said that most of the lines pointed towards the Andes, from which came the water the locals depended upon, in a kind of magic that would encourage the waters to flow. In drought years, the lines became bigger and longer, kind of shouting to the mountains to do their job. I don't know if that's true, but I certainly prefer it to the Daniken-esque no-white-men-so-therefore-aliens.
Drawing giant animals in a desert to tell the mountains that they have to send more water sounds so much more likely... and of course you had to bring race into it. Pathetic.
Imagine being under the sun carving this lines out. Being ultra ignorantly devoted. Ignorance and survival remain the biggest motivators of the human mind.
@@whackadoo these days ever straight white male is labeled as racist, you got any evidence? Because I just said that he wasn't so it makes you argument invalid.
A few years ago I was working as a pilot in Saudi Arabia. We were flying geologists and archeologists around, mapping thousands of tombs littering the desert. Most were simple round rock mounds. But some were extraordinary. Seemingly marking the burial places of tribal leaders, these were amazing feats of precision. Burial mounds linked by perfectly straight lines of piled rock, often well over half a kilometre long, following the contours of the terrain. And it is estimated that some were possibly 5,000 years old. Quite amazing.
What fascinates me about these huge drawings is, without a vehicle to take to the skies in, how did they check their work? No I’m not suggesting aliens. But, see, I am an artist, and it is vital to reflect on the final product, take a step back and really look at what you’re created. They couldn’t really do that, they couldn’t see it from the air! They must have been so brilliant - to be able to make them as accurate as they did only being able to see from the ground - but also frustrated that they couldn’t really truly behold what they’d made.
I love the dripping sarcasm barely under the surface of Simon’s delivery. It pokes its head up every few paragraphs and says hi when something is just TOO ridiculous not to comment on.
I enjoy histories mysteries. I always think of the peoples making something and snickering among themselves as they do things to confuse the people of the future. Maybe they thought someone would get the joke. I wonder what people in the future will think when they see Mount Rushmore, or some other long lost creation from us.
I think archaeologists are too quick to say every weird find was for religious purposes. Ancient people were people, and when people get bored we entertain ourselves by doing weird dumb stuff like creating art that has no practical use.
@@TheBonecrusherz Depends on the culture though. In places with a cold winter you'd work your butt off in the summer and fall to preserve food and then spend the winter in your home doing not a heck of a lot. I do get your point though.
I hope that if we do one day send spaceships throughout the galaxy and discover inhabited planets we do all the shit we did in Earth that people accredit to aliens. We can carve artwork into the ground, put a few pyramids here and there and fill an uninhabited island with Moai. Sounds a lot more fun that what we usually do to less technologically advanced people.
Bravo mentioning Jason Colavito. He was a skeptic on the pilot of Ancient Aliens because he knew George Tsokalos. He has a review blog where he has spent years debunking ancient aliens.
Simon I am so impressed that you were able to say , 'a satanic star force that takes over star systems in the galaxy...' without any snide remarks and the Orion Group deserved it!!!
Possible “alien” theory in a video? I slam that like button before I even watch the video because I know I am going to totally enjoy hearing snark in Simon narration, and it makes my day! Learned something new about the lines too.
It's Nazca. And for God sakes, I hope that you have done your duty and visited far more than only the lines. The Nazca were truly awesome. If not get back to the Casa Andina (the best restaurant in town it's just crossing the street, like five meters away from the door of the hotel) and do your duty! Cusqueña de Trigo, always! ;)
When considering the Nasca lines & other geoglyphs around the world, I think 3 main concepts for their creation must be considered:. 1). practical; i.e., directional or resource markers; 2). abstract; i.e., artistic representation; 3). communication; i.e., information & idea exchange. These 3 basic concepts are as integral to modern civilization as they would have been to ancient ones. We put up signs & markers telling us which way to go. The signs vary artistically as we express our ideas of what we're trying to achieve, & are sometimes art simply for art's sake. Of course, this all is intended to communicate to the viewer the correct way to go, & what can be found at the end destination. These concepts are seen throughout human history, from the earliest times, & are what enable us to be a functional society today. Wonder what historians 10,000 yrs. from now will think about OUR "Nasca lines"?
I imagine that the challenge here is figuring which of the three (or any combination of the three) are meant to be represented in the Nazca lines. We lack the context of the era to know for sure. Our own lines are our highways and roads, which for the most part are fully directional, but there are some that are meant to be "artistic" (race tracks).
@@resileaf9501 You're exactly right! I think all 3 concepts are represented at Nasca & other sites, & that they apply to not only the physical, but the social fabric, as well. For instance, animal & plant geoglyphs could be specific to 1 individual clan or social group, much as the totems of the Pacific Northwest Native Americans & the Polynesians of the South Pacific islands do. We ALL use art as an abstract means of communicating how we perceive & interact with the world around us, whether it's geoglyphs or music or what have you. And consider Egyptian heiroglyphs - they evolved from primitive art expressions into stylized pictorial writing. From symbolically pointing the way to the water hole, to communicating the greatness of their Pharoahs. I think this is part of what makes us human, & 1 way or another, we'll keep drawing our lines in the sand. Thanks for your comment.
My dearest Mr. Factboi, it is my greatest pleasure to witness you speaking about this topic with such an enormous enthusiasism, you almost remind me of the host of a RUclips channel called Brain Blaze.
So...if I may, I love the Nazca lines, but I baffled why it was such a mystery as to how they drew the lines. As a former art student, the sane methods described by some archeologists are similar techniques used in graphic design. I'm not saying it was *easy* for ancient peoples to do so, just that it is obvious to me how it could be done.
And I say this not in a way to diminish the impressive scale and accomplishments these works represent, but as a way to relate on a smaller scale. My dad asked me to 'draw something big' next to our pool using landscaping stones when I was 13 or so. Internet wasn't much of a thing yet, so it didn't occur to me to look up a technique. It wasn't easy, but I eventually worked out a more or less to-scale outline (with features) of an arching orca using bags and bags of black and white pebbles. I...did a connect the dots method.
@@TheGryfonclaw the question is why to do this?!? It is not like they had food and water for free and decided to use their time to make useless designs. Those things can be seen only from a plane or balloon. Also you need some knowledge of geometry. I don't think that everybody in those times were art students.
Thank you! My father always wondered how they plotted out those massive pieces of artwork. I'm just sad he passed away before I could show him this....
Nazcan 1: I'm super bored. Too bad the concept of "entertainment" won't be invented for centuries. Nazcan 2: We could go carve a giant animal into the ground. Nazcan 1: What, another one?
Nazcan 2: We could carve a different one. How 'bout a monkey? Nazcan 1: Too many fingers. Nazcan 2: How 'bout a spider? Nazcan 1: Too many legs. Nazcan 2: How 'bout a whale? Nazcan 1: Too many...Cool! Let's do it!
Apparently, there was some kind of "Tunguska" like event over the Atacama desert way back in time. Maybe people were trying to petition whomever sent those bombs from up above to stop doing this. There are some papers on this online.
With a thousand years between the earliest lines and the newest, I think there's plenty of room for different artisans to have made their creations with different purposes. Following earlier traditions, they built lines for their own needs. So there can be many answers.
Love all your channels. I have two story ideas though I'm not sure if this is the right channel for them: the sea evacuation from the south end of Manhattan on 9/11 and the Boston Molasses spill.
Some of the lines expand over undulating land and remain straight, regardless of the terrain. This can only be done from above or with some form of guidance. Because at ground level, you wouldn’t be able to see over the rises and mounds to maintain such precision, which can only really be admired and appreciated from above…
The form of guidance is a rope. It's no mystery at all how they were made. It's quite easy to draw thinks at scale. You draw a small picture, and scale it using ropes and some sticks. The lines are not impressive at all, compared with the rest of what the Nazca made. The problem it's that we only see "the lines". The Nazca, literally, created a vast irrigation system that allowed them to make one of the driest deserts on Earth fertile. Some parts are still in use today (after more than 2 thousand years). They build pyramids, cities, .... they were quite clever.
You have no idea how happy it just made me to hear you say "appropriated sun symbols". I feel like 99.9% of people don't know that's what the swastika is, and as a human being with the genetic memory of millions before me, it hurts my soul. I've been severely harassed for posting pictures of the swastika in all human cultures throughout time, for explaining that it's an inevitable symbol in just about every culture at some point or another due to its appearance in woven baskets, that it is one of the primary symbols in all of human history, but so many just know it as "but Nazis!!". I feel that something went dreadfully wrong in human consciousness when the Nazis appropriated the swastika, and that it is our duty to reclaim it for all of humanity. To take a symbol of enlightenment and turn it into a symbol of hate is magic of the darkest degree, yet we have the power to change that magic and reclaim our human heritage.
@@kateapple1 What does my race have to do with it (as though you can somehow tell very much at all by my profile picture!)? This is a symbol that has belonged to EVERY race and culture throughout history, and the Nazis appropriated it into a symbol of hate. I'm an advocate for not erasing ANY of the history of the swastika, or any symbols for that matter. And by allowing the swastika to continue to be primarily viewed as a symbol of hate instead of a symbol of light, by refusing to reclaim it, we are doing humanity no favours, and allowing the nazis to have won this particular battle.
@@kateapple1 I also very clearly stated, as I have every time I have discussed the swastika, that I am well aware of its dual meanings, that's the entire point, that by allowing only one meaning to exist we are doing humanity a great disservice. I have no idea where you got the idea that I am somehow unaware of its dual meanings.
Absolutely I agree with you, especially given the fact that there is no way that a group as hate filled and narrow minded as the nazis were ever creative enough to have conceptualized the symbol.
I looked up that orca drawring and yes, it is hella creepy. Thanks for mentioning it. Now the Great White from _Jaws_ has worthy competition within my nightmarespace.
I imagine some of those really straight lines that end with a bit of flair toward the end were ceremonial for sure. Basically a giant red carpet to walk a giant procession of people down. Like a parade ground on modern military bases.
People say "aliens" or "it's possible for early humans to do this without help", but what about the idea of lost ancient man-made technology? Why is that not allowed as a reason? T_T
Hi, Gamefreak. I get what you mean. Check out my reply to Jonas Richert's comment farther down. I totally agree with you - I think some previous unknown civilization threw a great big party, & WE didn't get invited!
The geometric and straight lines were ancient racetracks for Nazcar, the racing circuit that predated Nascar by several centuries. The stock cars that the natives raced have long since rusted away. 🤣
Maybe their very large spaceships that can achieve speed of light travel stayed in space while their reconnaissance vehicles still required landing strips to land lol
Try not to think too deep about what these things mean and what their purpose is. It could simply be artwork, maybe with some spiritual influence. In anthropology class in college down in Tucson Arizona, we learned that the southwest American Indians all the way down through central America partied fairly hard And hallucinogenic plants, such as peyote and Mezcal. It truly is fine art work
I got an a for a paper I wrote in college astronomy on the origin of the lines having to do with the out of body experience they had from ingesting a locally grown cactus of which motifs have been seen on pottery from the period. One can only see the image’s form from high above so take a trip, see the monkey (basically).
Paul Devereux's book "Shamanism and the Mystery LInes", Quantam, 1992, he argues, persuasively, that the Nazca lines, and the so-called ley lines were established by shamans whose trance flights to their version of heaven were marked on earth by these straight lines. The tribes in the Nazca area still use these straight lines as "Death roads|" which are noted for being straight to the point of ignoring easier topography nearby, in favour of the most direct route regardless of the terrain. Remnants of similar beliefs survive in Germany, the Netherlands and England, where there isolated instances of special tracks used to carry caskets from the church to graveyards. Since the Shamans were flying in straight lines in their trances to make their way to the realms of the dead it made sense that they marked the shamans' trance flights to the same places. According to Devereux, the giant animal geoglyphs at Nazca (and the chalk hill figures in t he UK) were deliberately designed to be seen from the air to guide the shamans spirits back to their tribal village or locality. I think it is a very elegant solution to the Nazca Lines
6:40 - Yeah, 'Aliens'. Time to put on your aluminum foil brain-control deflector beanie! 8:30 - Correct! It wasn't aliens. It was the locals. ____...____
The Nazca Lines are the only reason why I like the Pokemon sigilyph. They even went so far as to making it only appear in the desert during its debut. the Pokedex also references that thy used to be the guardians of a ancient civilizations. Also for those wondering sigilyph is likely based off of the hummingbird or condor geoglyphs
Nasca Person: Hey Sculpter; whatcha up to. Sculpter: I'm gonna make these giant lines pictures on the ground. Person: why? Sculpter: I want to fuck with people 3000 years from now. They'll never figure it out.
This falls under natural rather than man made phenomena, but could you do a video on the Old Man of the Mountain, a former geological formation in New Hampshire's White Mountains? Despite it crumbling to the ground one damp foggy night in 2003 it's still an enduring symbol in the Granite State, featuring on everything from license plates to commercial signs.
I can’t believe some idiot partially destroyed one of the designs. I don’t remember what the punishment was but I don’t believe anything could be severe enough.
@@Dr_Fuzz to be fair Stonehenge isn’t exactly in its original state anyway, it’s been restored lots over the years and even had stones erected that had fallen over and the same thing has happened at most other archaeological sites that have been known about for hundreds of years. Life in prison seems a bit harsh for some drunk guys in a car that probably barely made a scratch.
My theory is that someone traced giant pictures with his foot. He probably doesn’t know why. Like the time I built the 8 foot tower of rocks in the woods behind my house. One night I was drunk as fuck and it just seemed like the thing to do at the time
The tinfoil hat chappies seem to think that only visual signals embedded in the ground can direct a flying saucer into its landing spot. Despite having flown from a galaxy far far away.
These lines are only visible from the sky. So it would be a terrible waste of time to build all this and not be able to see them, unless they or someone else had flying machines.
It’s not a cat btw, it’s whatever big cats they had in the wild. They didn’t have domesticated cats before first contact. Tbh they probably just thought they looked cool, or they had a functional purpose.
The theory that these line were created by the mountain vantage point is an interesting one. Especially as the "cat" is on the side of the mountain. This also doesn't explain how they coordinated the process, I'm assuming they used their, 1000 year old walkie talkies to make sure everyone was in their correct positions?
Erich: "It was people from outer space..." Giorgio: "Is it possible? The answer is 'Yes!'" Simon: "NO! The answer is NO! It WASN'T bloody ALIENS! It's NEVER f(naughty word)ing ALIENS! Why do you THINK this? Why do you DO this? Why do you SAY this? Why? WHY?!" Guy in meme: "Daddy, chill!"
Weather its true or not ,walking without focusing ones eyes seams to have been done to overwhelm ones eyes focus,thus relieving ones eyes and letting other parts of our survival mechanics to evolve ,such as smell,hearing and others that the average white folk never considered\.I feel that after practicing, it is overwhelmingly key in to natural abilities such as lucid dreaming and much more.Human awareness is something yet to evolve to its optimum and these ancients were playing with such boundaries …the results seamed to be simplifies in the deserts
Personally, I find it quite a coincidence that the lines were made in a location that they would be perfectly preserved. I think whoever did them knew that this would be the case. There could be something in the rain thing I guess, but to try and make out that the mystery is definitely 'solved' with that theory is a stretch to say the least. They were certainly made to be viewed from above
Kids love to move rocks and make shapes. Most everyone does, to some degree. Maybe someone started making drawings in the earth, and others kept doing it. The UK has its white horses and rock and wood circles. Etc.
Great video. Tha Nazca Lines were never that mysterious to me, unlike the Great Pyramids. It took skill, but it's not like they were painting the Sistine Chapel. It makes sense to me that they just drew them either for gods or out of boredom.
With all the theories and how widely varied they are, I have to wonder, what if there is no deep, ceremonial purpose? What if the Nazca lines are just artwork? What if they're just murals constructed by the Van Goghs and Mondrians of their era? Or what if it was some big prank perpetrated over hundreds of years by the era's equivalent of frat boys?
Dare I say the fundamental requirements for civilisation are: -An environment (just) hard enough to inspire community and innovation -But stable enough not to keep resetting things Neither lasts for more than a few generations. Paradoxically, I wonder if 'our' problem is an environment that is temporarily too easy? PS When I look at the night sky the only constellation I'm capable of recognising is Orion because it's easy and I'm too dumb or lazy to look for any others ...then because I'm dumb, lazy, or both, and humans are so good at seeing patterns even where there are none, I think everything looks like Orion ...then because I'm dumb, lazy, or both, I come up with a fanciful story to connect my idiot imaginings. That is of course the kindest narrative. Many of the people who claim to believe in such things do so because they are aware "there is one born every minute" and see an opportunity to make some easy, if thoroughly dishonest, money. I would suggest those are the ones selling stuff to their idiot adherents.
The Nasca lines were SOS from flood-stranded people to a pre-flood civilization that obviously could 'fly' and to whom these symbols like the tree and eagle and wheeled vehicles meant something. One clue is that they will be found all over the world nearby sea, but not in the homeland. Because you do not need an SOS when you are home! Hope they found their way home🙏
perhaps as the civilization was declining and there was unrest, these were made as public works to get some members to work however as they got better at it the more affluent started to use them as a status symbol.
I see that quite a number of the biomorphs are created with a single continuous line, which approaches, delineates, and leaves the shape on parallel tracks. Surely that is significant? Processional?
The best part of this mystery is that it leaves us trying to put ourselves into the minds of the artists. Maybe they’re just good old graffiti and don’t have special purpose. Especially that cat on the hill.
When I went to Peru I did a flight experience over the lines as they have a little airport nearby (obviously). Would really recommend to anyone going to that part of the world. The scale of them is mind-blowing.
Lucky you
I bet it was awesome
What was the company called? This sounds amazing!
@@thomaswatson1995 it was with Peru Hop I believe. We went to some tourist office/shop in Lima and saw the package advertised randomly. Included the coach out of Lima to Huacachina (a desert oasis) where you did sand boarding and dune buggy riding, then on to the lines for your flight (flight was around an hour in small planes). Overall was a round trip of a few days and the price was stupidly good value. If the package is still available I’d recommend.
Can I suggest a video? they will be surprised
"Chasing people away in a wheel chair". What an absolute legend. Nominating for being in a Brain Blaze video.
Simon should start the Blaze Awards, or Legendary Blazers Awards!
@@christiangauthier727 Fully.
Or a Biographics
Seconding your nomination.
Who needs bully
Any time archeologists can't find an easy answer for an object or site, they immediately say it was used for ritual. What if the Nazca lines were made as a yearly competition by the local peoples to decide which local lord would be the next year's king? Or if they were made to celebrate the birth of an important figure? Or they could have been used as a way to prevent war. Or one local lord decided he was an artist and got his people to make one, then the other lords were like 'that's super impressive, I want one to' and it just kind of got out of hand.
Ockham's Razor tends to make your suggestion less likely. Ritual/spiritual/religious activities were a much bigger part of society in times past, though don't underestimate its importance today, despite modern Western societies being relatively secular.
@@owenshebbeare2999 I think religion/spirituality makes more sense when it comes to massive projects such as this. It’s something large amounts of people can easily come together to dedicate time and energy to.
It could be a calendar. It could be an appeal to the god/gods to return the described animals to the area, could be a way of marking one year to another like a harvest feast or new year celebration, could represent the formation of a new tribe, could represent important events within the society. Sadly, we will probably never know.
The dick-measuring explanation is good.
All of those things would be encompassed under the explanation "ritual".
They're all rituals. You're just being more specific. These are all speculation though and impossible to prove; what test / what evidence would you use to confirm any of these hypotheses? That's why anthropologists/archaeologists are vague and just say "ritual".
Ever since I first watched Yugioh 5Ds, wherein the Nazca Lines were the sealed forms of ancient demons, I've found them fascinating and only wonder what the ancients intended for them.
lmao ancient demon cat and ancient demon hummingbird
@@ghislainedidntkillherself actually, the hummingbird was one of them, named "Earthbound Immortal Aslla Piscu". Also, the condor, the monkey, the spider, the lizard, the less scary orca, and the giant.
Dude when i saw actual images of Nazca lines i thought "holy shit its actually real, am i gonna get eaten by a gigantic glowing lizard?" But im sure as hell glad i got interested in these kinds of stuff.
A fellow man of culture
@@JayTheGam3r I agree
1:00 - Chapter 1 - Lady with a broom
4:35 - Chapter 2 - Chariots from orion
8:35 - Chapter 3 - Joining the dots
11:20 - Chapter 4 - Ok but...why ?
15:05 - Chapter 5 - Cats & other discoveries
- Chapter 6 -
I’ve watched so many videos about the Nazca lines but not once have I heard anyone address the elephant in the room…..what was the purpose of them being so huge? Think about it, we in 2023 can only truly observe a great majority of them by drone videos or planes. Can we all just admit that it is an astonishing mystery and that anything is possible.
I saw a documentary years ago that said that most of the lines pointed towards the Andes, from which came the water the locals depended upon, in a kind of magic that would encourage the waters to flow.
In drought years, the lines became bigger and longer, kind of shouting to the mountains to do their job.
I don't know if that's true, but I certainly prefer it to the Daniken-esque no-white-men-so-therefore-aliens.
Drawing giant animals in a desert to tell the mountains that they have to send more water sounds so much more likely... and of course you had to bring race into it. Pathetic.
Imagine being under the sun carving this lines out. Being ultra ignorantly devoted. Ignorance and survival remain the biggest motivators of the human mind.
@@TheBonecrusherz its been said that Daniken is a racist. calm down.
@@whackadoo these days ever straight white male is labeled as racist, you got any evidence? Because I just said that he wasn't so it makes you argument invalid.
@@TheBonecrusherz What argument? I was relaying what was said. My god, have some reading comprehension.
A few years ago I was working as a pilot in Saudi Arabia. We were flying geologists and archeologists around, mapping thousands of tombs littering the desert. Most were simple round rock mounds. But some were extraordinary. Seemingly marking the burial places of tribal leaders, these were amazing feats of precision. Burial mounds linked by perfectly straight lines of piled rock, often well over half a kilometre long, following the contours of the terrain. And it is estimated that some were possibly 5,000 years old. Quite amazing.
I am convinced ancient civilisations were more advanced.
@@knightf8648 typical human evolution followers, never want to consider humans were advanced back then
What fascinates me about these huge drawings is, without a vehicle to take to the skies in, how did they check their work? No I’m not suggesting aliens. But, see, I am an artist, and it is vital to reflect on the final product, take a step back and really look at what you’re created. They couldn’t really do that, they couldn’t see it from the air! They must have been so brilliant - to be able to make them as accurate as they did only being able to see from the ground - but also frustrated that they couldn’t really truly behold what they’d made.
Excellent point!
6:37 You can just tell by Simon's cadence and tone that he absolutely hates alien theories haha
I love the dripping sarcasm barely under the surface of Simon’s delivery. It pokes its head up every few paragraphs and says hi when something is just TOO ridiculous not to comment on.
I enjoy histories mysteries. I always think of the peoples making something and snickering among themselves as they do things to confuse the people of the future. Maybe they thought someone would get the joke. I wonder what people in the future will think when they see Mount Rushmore, or some other long lost creation from us.
I think archaeologists are too quick to say every weird find was for religious purposes. Ancient people were people, and when people get bored we entertain ourselves by doing weird dumb stuff like creating art that has no practical use.
@@lauriepenner350 yeah but people in the past didn't have that much spare time to do dumb shit just for fun like we do today.
@@TheBonecrusherz Depends on the culture though. In places with a cold winter you'd work your butt off in the summer and fall to preserve food and then spend the winter in your home doing not a heck of a lot. I do get your point though.
So disappointing seeing that highway going through one of them 😞
I hope that if we do one day send spaceships throughout the galaxy and discover inhabited planets we do all the shit we did in Earth that people accredit to aliens. We can carve artwork into the ground, put a few pyramids here and there and fill an uninhabited island with Moai. Sounds a lot more fun that what we usually do to less technologically advanced people.
Excellent and underrated point. We sell our ancestors short, kinda all the time.
Bravo mentioning Jason Colavito. He was a skeptic on the pilot of Ancient Aliens because he knew George Tsokalos. He has a review blog where he has spent years debunking ancient aliens.
Simon I am so impressed that you were able to say , 'a satanic star force that takes over star systems in the galaxy...' without any snide remarks and the Orion Group deserved it!!!
At this point I might as well call my phone Simon! The only sound that comes out of the speaker these days is Simon's voice
Instead of " hey siri " it's "hey simon" or "hey factboy"
I've wanted to visit the lines for years. Good to see an article about them that doesn't buy into the alien theories
I LOVE aliens!!
Possible “alien” theory in a video? I slam that like button before I even watch the video because I know I am going to totally enjoy hearing snark in Simon narration, and it makes my day!
Learned something new about the lines too.
It's to the point where I can hold my breath until you post a new video!🥱😨😰😤
It'd only take a mild storm to completely erase the Nazca Lines. I'm amazed it hasn't happened in over 500 years.
You have a dry sense of humour 😀
Nobody ever consider the people who drew them just did it for the craic, same way people do random art projects now
Sure, but these lines have been made over centuries, so it's a pretty long-lasting art project at this point.
I found the material highly interesting, taking into consideration my yesterday visit on the Nasca desert.
Cool
It's Nazca. And for God sakes, I hope that you have done your duty and visited far more than only the lines. The Nazca were truly awesome.
If not get back to the Casa Andina (the best restaurant in town it's just crossing the street, like five meters away from the door of the hotel) and do your duty! Cusqueña de Trigo, always! ;)
Las Maravillosas y Unicas Lineas en el Mundo ....... NAZCA Una Ciudad MISTERIOSA por CONOCERLO .......VISITA EL PERU ...
When considering the Nasca lines & other geoglyphs around the world, I think 3 main concepts for their creation must be considered:. 1). practical; i.e., directional or resource markers; 2). abstract; i.e., artistic representation; 3). communication; i.e., information & idea exchange. These 3 basic concepts are as integral to modern civilization as they would have been to ancient ones. We put up signs & markers telling us which way to go. The signs vary artistically as we express our ideas of what we're trying to achieve, & are sometimes art simply for art's sake. Of course, this all is intended to communicate to the viewer the correct way to go, & what can be found at the end destination. These concepts are seen throughout human history, from the earliest times, & are what enable us to be a functional society today. Wonder what historians 10,000 yrs. from now will think about OUR "Nasca lines"?
@Leo the British-Filipino Thank YOU, Leo! Always good to hear from another clear thinker!
I imagine that the challenge here is figuring which of the three (or any combination of the three) are meant to be represented in the Nazca lines. We lack the context of the era to know for sure.
Our own lines are our highways and roads, which for the most part are fully directional, but there are some that are meant to be "artistic" (race tracks).
@@resileaf9501 You're exactly right! I think all 3 concepts are represented at Nasca & other sites, & that they apply to not only the physical, but the social fabric, as well. For instance, animal & plant geoglyphs could be specific to 1 individual clan or social group, much as the totems of the Pacific Northwest Native Americans & the Polynesians of the South Pacific islands do. We ALL use art as an abstract means of communicating how we perceive & interact with the world around us, whether it's geoglyphs or music or what have you. And consider Egyptian heiroglyphs - they evolved from primitive art expressions into stylized pictorial writing. From symbolically pointing the way to the water hole, to communicating the greatness of their Pharoahs. I think this is part of what makes us human, & 1 way or another, we'll keep drawing our lines in the sand. Thanks for your comment.
My dearest Mr. Factboi, it is my greatest pleasure to witness you speaking about this topic with such an enormous enthusiasism, you almost remind me of the host of a RUclips channel called Brain Blaze.
So...if I may, I love the Nazca lines, but I baffled why it was such a mystery as to how they drew the lines. As a former art student, the sane methods described by some archeologists are similar techniques used in graphic design. I'm not saying it was *easy* for ancient peoples to do so, just that it is obvious to me how it could be done.
And I say this not in a way to diminish the impressive scale and accomplishments these works represent, but as a way to relate on a smaller scale. My dad asked me to 'draw something big' next to our pool using landscaping stones when I was 13 or so. Internet wasn't much of a thing yet, so it didn't occur to me to look up a technique. It wasn't easy, but I eventually worked out a more or less to-scale outline (with features) of an arching orca using bags and bags of black and white pebbles. I...did a connect the dots method.
@@TheGryfonclaw the question is why to do this?!? It is not like they had food and water for free and decided to use their time to make useless designs.
Those things can be seen only from a plane or balloon.
Also you need some knowledge of geometry. I don't think that everybody in those times were art students.
Thank you! My father always wondered how they plotted out those massive pieces of artwork. I'm just sad he passed away before I could show him this....
You are good and your production is too. I appreciate your presentation.
Nazcan 1: I'm super bored. Too bad the concept of "entertainment" won't be invented for centuries.
Nazcan 2: We could go carve a giant animal into the ground.
Nazcan 1: What, another one?
Nazcan 2: We could carve a different one. How 'bout a monkey?
Nazcan 1: Too many fingers.
Nazcan 2: How 'bout a spider?
Nazcan 1: Too many legs.
Nazcan 2: How 'bout a whale?
Nazcan 1: Too many...Cool! Let's do it!
Apparently, there was some kind of "Tunguska" like event over the Atacama desert way back in time. Maybe people were trying to petition whomever sent those bombs from up above to stop doing this. There are some papers on this online.
With a thousand years between the earliest lines and the newest, I think there's plenty of room for different artisans to have made their creations with different purposes. Following earlier traditions, they built lines for their own needs. So there can be many answers.
Love all your channels. I have two story ideas though I'm not sure if this is the right channel for them: the sea evacuation from the south end of Manhattan on 9/11 and the Boston Molasses spill.
Biomorphs sounds like an Asylum mockbuster in a parallel universe where Animorphs was a successful film franchise.
Thanks for showing these! I’ve found them fascinating since reading “Chariots of the Gods” in fourth grade.
Some of the lines expand over undulating land and remain straight, regardless of the terrain. This can only be done from above or with some form of guidance. Because at ground level, you wouldn’t be able to see over the rises and mounds to maintain such precision, which can only really be admired and appreciated from above…
The form of guidance is a rope. It's no mystery at all how they were made. It's quite easy to draw thinks at scale. You draw a small picture, and scale it using ropes and some sticks.
The lines are not impressive at all, compared with the rest of what the Nazca made. The problem it's that we only see "the lines".
The Nazca, literally, created a vast irrigation system that allowed them to make one of the driest deserts on Earth fertile. Some parts are still in use today (after more than 2 thousand years). They build pyramids, cities, .... they were quite clever.
The Romans built remarkably straight roads over incredibly long distances, but there is no evidence of them ever possessing aircraft.
A simple magnetic compass
You have no idea how happy it just made me to hear you say "appropriated sun symbols". I feel like 99.9% of people don't know that's what the swastika is, and as a human being with the genetic memory of millions before me, it hurts my soul. I've been severely harassed for posting pictures of the swastika in all human cultures throughout time, for explaining that it's an inevitable symbol in just about every culture at some point or another due to its appearance in woven baskets, that it is one of the primary symbols in all of human history, but so many just know it as "but Nazis!!". I feel that something went dreadfully wrong in human consciousness when the Nazis appropriated the swastika, and that it is our duty to reclaim it for all of humanity. To take a symbol of enlightenment and turn it into a symbol of hate is magic of the darkest degree, yet we have the power to change that magic and reclaim our human heritage.
Lady everyone knows that. Maybe it’s that a white woman is posting a swastika and doesn’t realize it NOW has two meanings 😬
@@kateapple1 What does my race have to do with it (as though you can somehow tell very much at all by my profile picture!)? This is a symbol that has belonged to EVERY race and culture throughout history, and the Nazis appropriated it into a symbol of hate. I'm an advocate for not erasing ANY of the history of the swastika, or any symbols for that matter. And by allowing the swastika to continue to be primarily viewed as a symbol of hate instead of a symbol of light, by refusing to reclaim it, we are doing humanity no favours, and allowing the nazis to have won this particular battle.
@@kateapple1 I also very clearly stated, as I have every time I have discussed the swastika, that I am well aware of its dual meanings, that's the entire point, that by allowing only one meaning to exist we are doing humanity a great disservice. I have no idea where you got the idea that I am somehow unaware of its dual meanings.
@@FloatingSpark I think their comment was just meant to troll you. Gotta watch out in these internet comment sections
Absolutely I agree with you, especially given the fact that there is no way that a group as hate filled and narrow minded as the nazis were ever creative enough to have conceptualized the symbol.
The light behind you looks like one of Mr. Popo’s eyes and it’s terrifying.
There's so much more to find about these amazing carvings. ❤️
I looked up that orca drawring and yes, it is hella creepy. Thanks for mentioning it. Now the Great White from _Jaws_ has worthy competition within my nightmarespace.
Nazca was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. Between that and Chavin, Peru is somewhere everyone should visit. A truly amazing country
I imagine some of those really straight lines that end with a bit of flair toward the end were ceremonial for sure. Basically a giant red carpet to walk a giant procession of people down. Like a parade ground on modern military bases.
People say "aliens" or "it's possible for early humans to do this without help", but what about the idea of lost ancient man-made technology? Why is that not allowed as a reason? T_T
Hi, Gamefreak. I get what you mean. Check out my reply to Jonas Richert's comment farther down. I totally agree with you - I think some previous unknown civilization threw a great big party, & WE didn't get invited!
They were made by artists that were really good at geometry and maths
*listening to simon describe how they lines were most likely made* sounds like how u draw stuff in minecraft
The "Pilgrimage Paths" are also seen in the work of Anasazi inhabitants of the Southwest US.
Thank you Simon. Happy New Year.
I posit that the nazca lines are just street maps in an area where preservation was slightly easier.
The amazing thing is that they built the lines right next to the visitor centre, must have been made for tourism
The geometric and straight lines were ancient racetracks for Nazcar, the racing circuit that predated Nascar by several centuries. The stock cars that the natives raced have long since rusted away. 🤣
Imagine being able to travel light years through space but you still need a landing strip to land…
Good one.
And why would they bother visiting our planet.
Maybe their very large spaceships that can achieve speed of light travel stayed in space while their reconnaissance vehicles still required landing strips to land lol
Gravity
A giant 1 mile tall drew the Nazca lines and used that land as a whiteboard
Try not to think too deep about what these things mean and what their purpose is. It could simply be artwork, maybe with some spiritual influence. In anthropology class in college down in Tucson Arizona, we learned that the southwest American Indians all the way down through central America partied fairly hard And hallucinogenic plants, such as peyote and Mezcal. It truly is fine art work
Arizonan. Very Yes. Much of both/ each.... 😎
I love how passionate ancient alien and alt history people are.
I got an a for a paper I wrote in college astronomy on the origin of the lines having to do with the out of body experience they had from ingesting a locally grown cactus of which motifs have been seen on pottery from the period. One can only see the image’s form from high above so take a trip, see the monkey (basically).
i've waited so long for this!!!!
Paul Devereux's book "Shamanism and the Mystery LInes", Quantam, 1992, he argues, persuasively, that the Nazca lines, and the so-called ley lines were established by shamans whose trance flights to their version of heaven were marked on earth by these straight lines. The tribes in the Nazca area still use these straight lines as "Death roads|" which are noted for being straight to the point of ignoring easier topography nearby, in favour of the most direct route regardless of the terrain. Remnants of similar beliefs survive in Germany, the Netherlands and England, where there isolated instances of special tracks used to carry caskets from the church to graveyards.
Since the Shamans were flying in straight lines in their trances to make their way to the realms of the dead it made sense that they marked the shamans' trance flights to the same places.
According to Devereux, the giant animal geoglyphs at Nazca (and the chalk hill figures in t he UK) were deliberately designed to be seen from the air to guide the shamans spirits back to their tribal village or locality. I think it is a very elegant solution
to the Nazca Lines
I’m glad you brought up the ancient alien racism connection. Good video, well researched, thanks.
6:40 - Yeah, 'Aliens'. Time to put on your aluminum foil brain-control deflector beanie!
8:30 - Correct! It wasn't aliens. It was the locals.
____...____
Erich Von Daniken's view on the Nazca Lines changed from the time he wrote about them in the 60s to now.
there are no mysteries here, they gave plus 1 faith food and production to adjacent tiles
The Nazca Lines are the only reason why I like the Pokemon sigilyph. They even went so far as to making it only appear in the desert during its debut. the Pokedex also references that thy used to be the guardians of a ancient civilizations.
Also for those wondering sigilyph is likely based off of the hummingbird or condor geoglyphs
I never knew about this place until I saw this video. Thanks Simon 😉
Nasca Person: Hey Sculpter; whatcha up to.
Sculpter: I'm gonna make these giant lines pictures on the ground.
Person: why?
Sculpter: I want to fuck with people 3000 years from now. They'll never figure it out.
This falls under natural rather than man made phenomena, but could you do a video on the Old Man of the Mountain, a former geological formation in New Hampshire's White Mountains? Despite it crumbling to the ground one damp foggy night in 2003 it's still an enduring symbol in the Granite State, featuring on everything from license plates to commercial signs.
He has a video on Hassan Saba on biographical
I can’t believe some idiot partially destroyed one of the designs. I don’t remember what the punishment was but I don’t believe anything could be severe enough.
Remember some drunk idiots slammed their vehicle into Stonehenge?
@@Dr_Fuzz life in prison sadly isn’t enough. These places are historical gold.
@@jamesray1439 damn right brotha
@@Dr_Fuzz to be fair Stonehenge isn’t exactly in its original state anyway, it’s been restored lots over the years and even had stones erected that had fallen over and the same thing has happened at most other archaeological sites that have been known about for hundreds of years. Life in prison seems a bit harsh for some drunk guys in a car that probably barely made a scratch.
i first learned about these from yugioh 5ds
My theory is that someone traced giant pictures with his foot. He probably doesn’t know why.
Like the time I built the 8 foot tower of rocks in the woods behind my house. One night I was drunk as fuck and it just seemed like the thing to do at the time
The tinfoil hat chappies seem to think that only visual signals embedded in the ground can direct a flying saucer into its landing spot. Despite having flown from a galaxy far far away.
I'm still laughing at the eco protest that destroyed sections of the lines.
Surprised this hasn't been done before
I think that despite the many interesting facts about the Nasca Lines Machu Picchu takes most of the atention when comes to turism in Peru.
Great video, Geographics team!
Two taggers from Nazca, "let them figure this out".
When Simon started talking about the Orion Group, I just zoned out
My man Simon is about to start smiting the unworthy with his mighty staff with that beard
These lines are only visible from the sky. So it would be a terrible waste of time to build all this and not be able to see them, unless they or someone else had flying machines.
Trying to communicate to alien beings now doesn’t seem all that far-fetched 😮
It’s not a cat btw, it’s whatever big cats they had in the wild. They didn’t have domesticated cats before first contact.
Tbh they probably just thought they looked cool, or they had a functional purpose.
Exlcellent one the best informations about my homeland.
Thanks a Lot🎉🇵🇪🎉
The theory that these line were created by the mountain vantage point is an interesting one. Especially as the "cat" is on the side of the mountain. This also doesn't explain how they coordinated the process, I'm assuming they used their, 1000 year old walkie talkies to make sure everyone was in their correct positions?
Simon why did you stop uploading to the casual criminalist and brain blaze?
nice one Simon
Aliens, the world's laziest answer to historical questions. 🙄
It appeals to credulous Americans.
Erich: "It was people from outer space..."
Giorgio: "Is it possible? The answer is 'Yes!'"
Simon: "NO! The answer is NO! It WASN'T bloody ALIENS! It's NEVER f(naughty word)ing ALIENS! Why do you THINK this? Why do you DO this? Why do you SAY this? Why? WHY?!"
Guy in meme: "Daddy, chill!"
Weather its true or not ,walking without focusing ones eyes seams to have been done to overwhelm ones eyes focus,thus relieving ones eyes and letting other parts of our survival mechanics to evolve ,such as smell,hearing and others that the average white folk never considered\.I feel that after practicing, it is overwhelmingly key in to natural abilities such as lucid dreaming and much more.Human awareness is something yet to evolve to its optimum and these ancients were playing with such boundaries …the results seamed to be simplifies in the deserts
Personally, I find it quite a coincidence that the lines were made in a location that they would be perfectly preserved. I think whoever did them knew that this would be the case. There could be something in the rain thing I guess, but to try and make out that the mystery is definitely 'solved' with that theory is a stretch to say the least. They were certainly made to be viewed from above
Kids love to move rocks and make shapes. Most everyone does, to some degree. Maybe someone started making drawings in the earth, and others kept doing it. The UK has its white horses and rock and wood circles. Etc.
Once you've read Grahame Hancock you can never watch something like this again without intense frustration.
Great video. Tha Nazca Lines were never that mysterious to me, unlike the Great Pyramids. It took skill, but it's not like they were painting the Sistine Chapel. It makes sense to me that they just drew them either for gods or out of boredom.
With all the theories and how widely varied they are, I have to wonder, what if there is no deep, ceremonial purpose? What if the Nazca lines are just artwork? What if they're just murals constructed by the Van Goghs and Mondrians of their era? Or what if it was some big prank perpetrated over hundreds of years by the era's equivalent of frat boys?
"they suggest aliens because they are racist"
*Laughs in Stonehenge*
Dare I say the fundamental requirements for civilisation are:
-An environment (just) hard enough to inspire community and innovation
-But stable enough not to keep resetting things
Neither lasts for more than a few generations. Paradoxically, I wonder if 'our' problem is an environment that is temporarily too easy?
PS
When I look at the night sky the only constellation I'm capable of recognising is Orion because it's easy and I'm too dumb or lazy to look for any others ...then because I'm dumb, lazy, or both, and humans are so good at seeing patterns even where there are none, I think everything looks like Orion ...then because I'm dumb, lazy, or both, I come up with a fanciful story to connect my idiot imaginings.
That is of course the kindest narrative. Many of the people who claim to believe in such things do so because they are aware "there is one born every minute" and see an opportunity to make some easy, if thoroughly dishonest, money. I would suggest those are the ones selling stuff to their idiot adherents.
The Nasca lines were SOS from flood-stranded people to a pre-flood civilization that obviously could 'fly' and to whom these symbols like the tree and eagle and wheeled vehicles meant something. One clue is that they will be found all over the world nearby sea, but not in the homeland. Because you do not need an SOS when you are home! Hope they found their way home🙏
Surpised this isn't a "Decoding the Unknown" video!
perhaps as the civilization was declining and there was unrest, these were made as public works to get some members to work however as they got better at it the more affluent started to use them as a status symbol.
So many new creations...wow
im gonna laugh when we find out that they were just created by special Bob; to keep him busy and away from town, destroying things..
I see that quite a number of the biomorphs are created with a single continuous line, which approaches, delineates, and leaves the shape on parallel tracks. Surely that is significant? Processional?
There appeared to be a single break in each glyph, as for start and finish points.
We know they weren't made by extraterrestrial visitors
The best part of this mystery is that it leaves us trying to put ourselves into the minds of the artists. Maybe they’re just good old graffiti and don’t have special purpose. Especially that cat on the hill.
I understand why.
This could of been a mega project as well