Researchers from Yamagata University, Japan announced the discovery of 142 new giant figures on the Nazca plateau.
One of the new drawings discovered in the Peruvian desert. (Photo: Yamagata University).
The Nazca Plateau drawings, or geoglyphs , were first known in the 1920s when commercial aircraft flew over an arid desert that stretched for 85km in southern Peru. They were created during the Nazca period, between 200 BC and 600 AD, and are considered one of the greatest archaeological mysteries in the world.
Of the 142 new geoglyphs, one was discovered using technology giant IBM’s artificial intelligence (AI) and Watson supercomputer . The figure depicts a person holding a sword or staff high, say researchers from Yamagata University.
The figure was discovered by AI and the supercomputer Watson. (Photo: Yamagata University).
Some other notable geoglyphs include a giant two-headed snake about to swallow two people, depictions of birds, fish, or an oddly shaped dancing figure. The lines are carved deep into the earth, dating from about between 100 BC and 300 AD.
Geoglyph depicts a two-headed snake about to devour a person. (Photo: Yamagata University).
Archaeologists have so far not had a definite explanation for the construction method as well as the motivation for the Nazca people to create these mysterious drawings. Some theories suggest that they are related to religious activities, astronomy, or even created by extraterrestrials. The drawings on the Nazca plateau were recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1994.