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A giant figure of a 2,000-year-old feline that was about to disappear will be the meow of the new cat when Peru’s remarkable Nazca Lines attraction reopens to tourists in November.
The geoglyph is around 37 meters long and was recently discovered by a drone on a hillside, the Ministry of Culture said.
“The figure was barely visible and was about to disappear due to the effects of natural erosion as it is on a fairly steep slope,” the ministry said.
A group of archaeologists was in charge of cleaning and preserving the geoglyph, which shows a cat with the body in profile but the head in front.
The lines that formed its outline were mostly well defined and were between 30 and 40 cm wide.
Experts say its stylistic features mean it is from the late Paracas period, more than 2,000 years ago and older than the other famous Nazca figures, such as the nightingale, the monkey, and the spider.
“Feline representations of this type are common in the ceramic and textile iconography of Paracas society,” the ministry said.
The people who formed the Nazca civilization in that area of southwestern Peru lived there from 200 to 700 AD, but the cat dates from 200-100 BC.
The Paracas culture lived in the area from 800-100 BC and is believed to have been responsible for the Palpa Lines, which are similar to but less famous than the nearby Nazca Lines.
The Nazca Lines, most of which are only visible from the sky, were made by people who made incisions in the desert floor to expose dirt of different colors.
They are made up of thousands of lines that include geometric patterns, as well as the most famous animal figures.
The reason for its creation is unknown, but some theories include astrological and religious significance, as well as indicators of water sources.
The area, about 350 kilometers south of Peru’s capital Lima, is a Unesco World Heritage site. – AFP
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