Comments for Old Piles of Words

Comment on The Terraces of Moray by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:02:02 +0000

Been having nightmares about aliens (true!) since Nazca.Kindly stop adding.

Comment on The Ruins of Chinchero by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:29:54 +0000

Did you retrieve whatever you dropped, Matt? By the way, you’re both looking JUST TOO GOOD! Like life was easy and sunny and healthy or something?

Comment on Piquillacta Archeological Park by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:09:13 +0000

Y-a des toutous de cette taille dans la nature encore? Nothing would surprise me…

Comment on The Town and Ruins of Ollantaytambo by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:10:34 +0000

Who would flood their own city, refer to a SITTING llama, and let the windows of their storage rooms open for hot air? Up to now I thought them pretty clever… As you’re on to silly stories, tell us about the cows on the roofs? ( I think I first spotted them in Bolivia?)

Comment on Cuzco’s Precolumbian Art Museum by venla

venla — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:20:23 +0000

Earrings (or earplugs), not cuff links. Huge earrings too… Probably 3-4 cm across!

Comment on Four Inca Ruins in Just One Day by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:57:31 +0000

Amazing there still is all that stone lying around, with the new town right on the spot. It’s beginning to look like in Peru you cannot walk a mile without stumbling on ruins? “Easy” access as well,- not much jungle on top…

Comment on Cuzco’s Precolumbian Art Museum by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:13:51 +0000

So the Chimu used spoons and cuff links! And the Inka flattened gold pieces to make a curtain like mine! (Only mine is of green plastic, what do you say to that!) Surely the pottery is reproduction, in such mint condition? I don’t seem to want to be impressed today…

Comment on Santa Teresa Convent by liisa wistrand-gilles

liisa wistrand-gilles — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:44:11 +0000

I’ve always marvelled at your choice of the final picture…

Comment on The Nazca by matt

matt — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:30:59 +0000

The lines are made by clearing the rock from the surface, which reveals the light-colored earth below; essentially, they just tilled the sand over. They used stakes and string to survey for their work, the remains of these have been found. I saw a clip on youtube of a National Geographic show in which an American archaeologist used technologies the Nazca were known to have, and he and a couple of undergrads (who are not known to be hard workers) were able to make similar geoglyphs in a couple of days.

They last so long because the desert is so dry, so there is no erosion or plant life to degrade them (seriously, in the pyramids there is 1600 year old corn still in the pots, and it looks edible). There is also very little wind in the area.

Their purpose is unknown, but we have seen some pretty crazy constructions in the name of religion over the last year, and these seem to fit that profile. Archaeologists have found what appears to be ritually sacrificed pottery near and on the lines, too. I would venture a guess that these kinds of things were common in the ancient world, it is just that only the Nazca valley had the right combination of conditions to preserve them.

Venla has another hypothesis: she thinks that it was a contest for the village kids to keep them occupied and out of trouble. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

Comment on The Nazca by Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:48:55 +0000

Questions, questions…. These are amazing and it does make you wonder what their intention for the lines were. But, I want to know, what are the lines made up of that they have lasted so long? Are they rock or??? Just, wow!!