Photo/Illutration A geoglyph believed to depict a human being. The pattern is emphasized with lines. (Provided by the Institute of Nasca, Yamagata University)

YAMAGATA—Yamagata University researchers announced on Sept. 24 that they have uncovered 303 new geoglyphs in the Nazca Lines, a World Heritage Site in Peru, using artificial intelligence.

In addition, they have apparently deciphered their meanings, depicting human sacrifices and serving as places for rituals. 

The findings mark the culmination of a six-month field survey by the university, which researches these massive figures in the Peruvian desert. 

So far, 430 pieces of geoglyphs drawn about 2,000 years ago have been found.

Of these, 318 were discovered by Yamagata University, which began investigating the subject in 2004.

Previously, the university had identified the geoglyphs from satellite images and other sources.

Through a new joint research project with IBM Research using AI, 303 geoglyphs were newly identified between September 2022 and February 2023. Thanks to the new technology, the number of known geoglyphs has nearly doubled.

The geoglyphs fall into two types: “surface” and “line” types.

The 303 newly discovered geoglyphs are of the surface type, in which stones have been removed to make figures. They are located along pathways and depict people, heads and livestock.

Masato Sakai, a professor of cultural anthropology at Yamagata University, said, “The human heads depict human sacrifices (to the gods). People at that time learned the roles of human sacrifice and livestock by looking at them while walking.”

The giant “line” types include the famed Nazca hummingbird geoglyphs. They are located at the starting and ending points of pilgrimage routes.

Sakai said it is likely that they formerly served as ritual spaces in the shapes of animals.

“At that time, there was no written language in society. People learned about the roles of people and animals by looking at pictures, and used them as a place for rituals,” he said.

More photos of the newly found geoglyphs can be seen in the following Japanese article:

「ナスカの地上絵」に役割別に2タイプ存在　地上絵303点も新発見

(This article was written by Tatsuro Sakata and Koichi Anzai.)

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