HASS7 History Mystery, Investigating the Ancient Past (2015): Nazca Lines

Secrets of Nazca [Clickview, 51min 32 sec]

Etched, as if by giants, onto the arid landscape of southern Peru's Nazca Desert lies one of man's greatest mysteries: the Nazca Lines. More than a hundred geometric and animal-like patterns, some kilometres long, have been discovered criss-crossing the pampas like a vast puzzle. Scientists have long speculated about who built them and their meaning. Now, after decades of misunderstanding, they may finally have the answer. A long since vanished civilisation, called the Nazca, flourished here between 200BC and 700AD. Their dramatic end can be linked to these strange drawings in the sand. Using the latest forensic research, Secrets of Nazca reveals how the patterns were most likely dug to appease the gods and beg them to send rain. The drawings document a change of climate that transformed a once flourishing area into a desert. (From Germany, in English, German and Spanish, English subtitles) (Documentary) CC

SOURCE: Secrets of Nazca [Digital video]. (2011). Sydney: Clickview.