The Atacama Giant in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.
The ancient cultures also left behind mysteriousgeoglyphsfigures and shapes drawn upon the landscape.
Often best viewed from above, geoglyphs are found around the world.
The Atacama Giant in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom JOSA ARCOS AGUILAR/Shutterstock)
The subject matter can range from horses to spiders to concentric circles.
The largest prehistoric anthropomorphic geoglyph is found in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
The Atacama Giant lies in the Atacama Desert, the driest non-polar desert on Earth.
Moon Valley, Atacama Desert, Chile. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom SKREIDZELEU/Shutterstock)
The desert plateau stretches almost 1,000 miles along the coast of Chile and Peru.
The desert contains over5,000 geoglyphs.
The earliest of these date to about 800 CE; the latest, to the 16th century.
Other geoglyphs in Atacama Desert, Chile. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom TETRIS AWAKENING/Shutterstock)
Moon Valley, Atacama Desert, Chile.
Figures resembling people (or perhaps gods) are also represented performing different activitiesfor example, hunting.
Animals, too, are found among the figures.
Another giant figural geoglyph; part of the Nazca Lines UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peru. (Photo:Diego DelsoviaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 4.0)
Llamas, lizards, and monkeys are just a few examples.
Scholars believe some animals may correspond to divine rites, such as amphibians being used in water rituals.
Modern flight and drone abilities have enabled closer study and better photography of such ancient creations around the world.
Spider geoglyph; part of the Nazca Lines UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peru. (Photo:Diego DelsoviaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 4.0)
Geoglyphs are generally categorized intothree types.
A second jot down is consideredextractive, ornegative.
In this case, topsoil and other materials are scraped away to reveal differently colored subsoil.
A third punch in of geoglyph is acombination of bothstyles.
However, even in wetter climates such as the United Kingdom,geoglyphs such as the Uffington Horsestill survive.
Other geoglyphs in Atacama Desert, Chile.
However, the purpose of many of the images remains a mystery.
Some may have been intended as guiding information for the ancient llama caravans.
Others may have been devoted to deities or used in religious practices.
Another giant figural geoglyph; part of the Nazca Lines UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peru.
Created earlier than the Atacama images, the Nazca Lines date from about 500 BCE to 500 CE.
They draw their name from the heavy use of long lines, created in an extractive style.
These lines surround or compose shapes and animals.
Spiders, humans, hummingbirds, and more are depicted in the dry soil.
Over the years, experts have suggested a variety of explanations for the geoglyphs.
Ritual use, representations of constellations, and other astronomical purposes have all been hypothesized.
Still others have suggested the lines, in part, performed an importantirrigation function.
Spider geoglyph; part of the Nazca Lines UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peru.
