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Related: About this forumMystery of Nazca, Peru's Puquios: Purpose of Ancient Holes Finally Solved By Satellites
Mystery of Nazca, Peru's Puquios: Purpose of Ancient Holes Finally Solved By Satellites
By Anna Swartz April 13, 2016
For years, spiral-shaped holes, called puquios, that dot the dry landscape in Nazca, Peru have confused archaeologists. But now, using satellite images, a team of researchers has finally solved the mystery of the holes once and for all, reports the BBC.
The holes are actually part of a "sophisticated hydraulic system constructed to retrieve water from underground aquifers," Rosa Lasaponara of the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, in Italy, who conducted the research, told the BBC. "What is clearly evident today is that the puquio system must have been much more developed than it appears today."
Lasaponara and her team used satellite images to analyze the placement of the puquios and realized the extent to which they moved water throughout the region. There is a system of tunnels underground, connecting the puquios. Each spiral hole pulls air down into the canals, moving the water through the network and bringing it to people who would have used it for both agriculture and domestic life, Lasaponara told the BBC.
To design such a system would have meant that the ancient Nazca people who built them had extensive knowledge about the geography of the area, Lasaponara said. The irrigation tunnels may also be connected to the Nazca lines, giant geoglyphs of animals, people and shapes carved into the Nazca desert, Lasaponara told the BBC.
More:
http://mic.com/articles/140792/mystery-of-nazca-peru-s-puquios-purpose-of-ancient-holes-finally-solved-by-satellites#.TFm43nT3F
elljay
(1,178 posts)The Nazca civilization was likely destroyed by climate change. A few centuries later the Spanish arrived with more sophisticated weaponry and greed and destroyed the civilization and religion of the successor Inca culture, replacing it with their Spanish Catholic culture/religion. I fail to see any improvement.
pbmus
(12,418 posts)southmost
(759 posts)taking over a continent hit by a historic pandemic would not be too difficult. ...
MrScorpio
(73,626 posts)left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)SoLeftIAmRight
(4,883 posts)we are not going to save ourselves
the only hope is - - - alien invasion
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,790 posts)But ... be careful what you wish for.
1monster
(11,012 posts)COOOOOKKKBOOOOKKKKkkkkkkkkk............
SoLeftIAmRight
(4,883 posts)our bodies are toxic - they would never eat us
lunatica
(53,410 posts)The spiral holes, and the explanation only raise more questions than they try to answer.
Where did they get the knowledge of the underground aquifers and how did they figure out the engineering to make it possible to irrigate all their crops by making holes in the ground?
Whether it was alien or native earthling engineering is not what I'm arguing. It could be either at this point. I'm not convinced the mystery is solved. Not when it comes to pre-Columbian history as opposed to what the Spaniards found when they arrived.
Hell, it could just as easily be seen as post-Atlantean engineering given all the answers it doesn't give.
keithbvadu2
(36,369 posts)Practical application, not just mystical unknowns.
Mustellus
(328 posts)Where they were called quanats. Partly done to give access, partly cause they couldn't make long tunnels
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)It's now "Mystery of Nazca, Peru's Puquios: Satellite Images Shed New Light on Ancient Aqueducts"