Archaeologists using AI have discovered 303 new geoglyphs near the famous Nazca Lines in Peru. These ancient drawings, which include images of parrots, cats, monkeys, and even decapitated heads, were found by a team from Japan’s Yamagata University and IBM Research. The discovery nearly doubles the number of known geoglyphs in this area.
These new geoglyphs are smaller than the large designs previously found on the Nazca plateau. They date back to around 200 BC and help researchers understand how the Paracas culture influenced the Nazca people, who later created the well-known hummingbird, monkey, and whale figures at this UNESCO World Heritage site.
AI technology, along with low-flying drones, made it easier and faster to find these geoglyphs. It took only six months to discover 303 new figures, compared to nearly a century to find 430 earlier ones. AI helped identify smaller, hard-to-see geoglyphs by analyzing large amounts of data collected by drones.
Peru’s chief archaeologist, Johny Isla, said that drones and AI have greatly sped up research. What once took years can now be done in just a few days. Many of the newly found geoglyphs are small, measuring only 3 to 7 meters across, and were missed by earlier methods that focused on larger shapes visible from above.
These mysterious lines, which include figures like a humanoid “astronaut” and large geometric patterns, continue to attract many tourists each year.
Source: theguardian
