New Glyphs found in Nazca

Japanese team finds 2 new geoglyphs on Peru's Nazca Plateau Wednesday 19th January, 03:57 AM JST YAMAGATA — A Japanese research team said Tuesday it has discovered two new geoglyphs on Peru’s Nazca Plateau, which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its gigantic lines and geoglyphs. The team, led by Masato Sakai, professor in state-run Yamagata University’s Faculty of Literature and Social Sciences, said the newly discovered geoglyphs appear to represent a human head and an animal. In 2006, the same team announced the discovery of about 100 new geoglyphs on the Nazca Plateau, many in the form of straight and triangular lines. Faculty chief Yoichi Watanabe told reporters that the new geoglyphs were found about 10 kilometers from northern Nazca where gigantic geoglyphs of animals, fish and insects are located. A temple is located near the site of the new discoveries. ‘‘It is unusual to find geoglyphs of living things in this part of the plateau,’’ Watanabe said. He said the geoglyph of what appears to be a human head measures around 4.2 meters long and 3.1 meters wide and that the researchers confirmed parts that look like two eyes, a mouth and the right ear. An analysis of earthenware discovered near the site indicates that the geoglyph of the human head was created in the early Nazca civilization period or earlier. The Nazca civilization flourished between around 200 B.C. and A.D. 600. The other geoglyph of what appears to be an animal measures about 2.7 meters long and 6.9 meters wide. It is not known when it was created. The Japanese team began studies at the site on the Nazca Plateau in August 2010 with the permission of Peru’s Culture Ministry. The two new geoglyphs were probably not identified in aerial surveys because of their small size, Watanabe said. He also said the team has filed a report on the new discoveries with Peru’s Culture Ministry and that it would look into the relations between the newly found geoglyphs and the nearby temple. Nazca is located on the southern coast of Peru, about 400 km south of the capital Lima. The lines and geoglyphs of Nazca and the Pampas of Jumana were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1994. The lines, which were etched between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, are among archaeology’s greatest mysteries because of their number, form and size. The lines and geoglyphs cover about 450 square km