Mysterious Nazca Lines

Left behind by an ancient civilization, these lines feature hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks or orcas, llamas, and lizards.

How they were made
The lines are shallow designs in the ground where the reddish pebbles that cover the surrounding landscape have been removed, revealing the whitish earth underneath. Hundreds are simple lines or geometric shapes, and more than seventy are natural or human figures. The largest are over 200 metres (660 ft) across. The mysterious part is that these lines could only be seen from the air but airplanes weren't invented yet!


What were they for?
Scientist have long argued over what the lines were for but generally connect them to religious significance. "The geometric ones could indicate the flow of water or be connected to rituals to summon water. The spiders, birds, and plants could be fertility symbols. Other possible explanations include: irrigation schemes or giant astronomical calendars.

Disappeared
What happened to the people who made these lines? Now new evidence has been uncovered that might give a clue to this. The ancient South American Nazca civilization may have caused its own demise by clear-cutting huge swaths of forest, a new study has found. The civilization disappeared mysteriously around 1,500 years ago, after apparently prospering during the first half of the first millennium A.D. in the valleys of south coastal Peru.

Moral: Don't chop the trees. Deforestation can cause disasters to happen, like what is happening now. Global warming and climate change are causing havoc to our Earth.

Think about it!

READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/ancientcivilizationcutpathtodemise
http://www.labyrinthina.com/nazca.htm