3.+The+Argument

The Argument While many theories have been presented as to why the Nazca geoglyphs were made, many lack the substance or presentable evidence to back their claims. The only theory that seems to withstand and hold its ground is the theory that the lines are pathways or points to sacred locations. One anthropologist that I left out of the previous listing of theories is [|Tony Aveni.] Aveni also believed that the lines had to be pathways used for some kind of ritual. As Aveni wrote in //Archaeology// in Vol. 53 in 2000, "I have no doubt that some sort of ritual on the ray centers and trapezoids, wherein people assembled...". Aveni goes onto mention that there are patterns in the geoglyphs as all the lines do radiate out from a central point. What I find interesting about how Aveni goes about his argument is that he incorporates the use of Reiche's and Reindel's theories. Yes the lines might have something to do with water or astronomy, however with recent computer graphing it has proven to be unlikely. Getting back to Aveni's original theory, the lines do have some support for being pathways for some kind of ritual procession. Since the lines were made over a period of time, they could all be represented by a different pathway that had been taken by religious followers. Also this wouldn't be the first appearance of unbroken, straight lines in religious symbols. The Cross and the Star of David are both made with straight even lines. Even the Wiccan symbol of the Pentacle is made with straight unbroken lines. Straight lines are actual very common in religious symbols making it a bit more believable that the lines might represent something of a religious nature. What makes the pathway theory even more plausible is the fact that the lines cut from one canyon to another suggesting processions of people. Also there comes a theory that the lines were made straight by people positioning themselves in a straight lines and clearing away the stones. Another theory mentioned in Sean's page was a wooden stake could be planted in the ground and a rope could be tied to it to produce a straight line. If this were so the wooden stake could be something of religious importance, not just a marker to produce straight lines. The lines could have been part of a pilgrimage, like the one made by the Runa, the highland peoples of Peru of whom we learned about earlier on this semester. The Runas fulfill their religious cargo by making a pilgrimage up to Qoyllur-Riti. As part of this pilgrimage, they carry and plant crosses according to where Taytacha (an Andean god) walked. This could be a tradition that was followed many years before the Runa and represented by the lines. It is very possible that the lines could have been made by nothing more than rope and a wooden stick and or staff. With the mentioning of pathways comes the question of how the Nazca figures, such as the spider shown above or the monkey shown in the previous page relate to religious processions. Nazca art is known for being more abstract than previous cultures. It is possible that the figures and animals shown in the lines could be a representation of holy animals or even the depiction of gods. The monkey shown in the previous page had what appeared to be a hand coming out of his mouth. This is not the only Nazca symbol to show an object protruding from a figure's mouth. As shown above trophy heads were often depicted in artwork as hanging from a figure's mouth. Trophy heads were a common theme in Nazca culture from burials to artwork. Trophy heads were treated very ritualistically, with holes in hammered into the skull and thorns sealing the mouth shut, and were placed where the actual "whole" dead were buried. This suggests that trophy heads had a place in Nazca ritual and perhaps were even represented abstractly in the Nazca lines?

Another approach to the appearance of figures in the Nazca lines, is that they were created to show the gods in the [|heavens the Nazca's devotion (5).] With either depiction the lines show more resemblance to being linked to religious over tones or used as paths to get from one place to the next. Even Reindel began to suspect hat thelines "evolved locally as a form of religious expression", as quoted from //Archaeology// magazine. Although the figures do not resemble a path way, they can most certainly be linked to some sort of abstract religious aspect. The actual animal like images were not created until a later time which might even suggest that they were made for a different purpose (not pathways) because they were most likely made by different people.