Ai Finds New Nazca Lines - 2024

Japanese researchers have recently created a new study on the Nazca Lines in Peru using the AI coming with a list of 303 new geoglyphs. This discovery is nearly twice the previously identified total of around 430 geoglyphs, long of interest to archaeologists and historians since the 20th-century rediscovery of many of them.

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The Discovery Process

The specific study was conducted by the research team including archaeologist Masato Sakai from Yamagata University and with the help of IBM’s research department to use the AI technology to find out these early carved stencils. Conventional identification of geoglyphs was previously done through field analysis of high-resolution aerial photographs which took the human eye a long time to detect and was subject to human error. Unlike the human methodology, the AI model scanned mega/regional-scale geospatial data and quickly pinpointed candidates for geoglyphs in a mere six months of aerial reconnaissance that spans from September 2022 to February 2023. This method was shown to be 21 times as efficient as analysis performed solely by humans.

Due to the AI’s enhanced capacity, the researchers were able to discover even less evident relief-type geoglyphs that can hardly be observed without further photo interpretation. Among the newly identified figures are various motifs, including abstract humanoids, animals, and unique designs such as a "knife-wielding orca" and "decapitated heads," some of which suggest ritualistic or ceremonial significance.

Insights into the Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines are large scale figures etched into the desert floor and are estimated to have been made by the Nazca culture between 200 BC and 700 AD. These Paleolithic works of art span a land size of approximately 440 square kilometers and consist of both caricature and intaglio. The new discoveries highlight a distinction between these types:

Relief-type geoglyphs: Compared to the colossal ones ranging from 36 meters tall with heads and 2 meters slimper, the others forms and measurements are relatively small measuring an average of 9 meters tall and outward, representing humans and domesticated animals. The signs are commonly established alongside historic trails divans suggesting that they were designed for viewing by travelers.

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Line-type geoglyphs: With large numbers that ranged approximately 90 meters in length primarily presenting the animals in the wild. These are though believe to have been used for festive or communal uses, or could have served as a communal altar.

Implications to future study

These included dating the intensity of human activities and mobility in rockshelter sites at MIS3, concluding with the publications in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as explained above with emphasis showing the possibility of applying AI in archaeology. Such an extraordinary rate of new geoglyphs’ detection leads to questions concerning how many more exist in this UNESCO World Heritage site. It is hoped that the next 250 potential geoglyphs can be spotted by the AI and have not been studied before.

This innovative approach not only helps us to broaden our knowledge of the artistic and cultural life of the Nazca civilization and people of Peru, still it reminds us of the sensitivity of such archeological and historical monuments and the necessity to protect them from various modern dangers, such as natural disasters and people’s interference.