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Jhony Islas / Ministry of Culture of Peru – Nasca-Palpa / AP
The figure of a feline has been found in the famous area of the Nazca lines in Peru.
An ancient land drawing of a 37 meter long cat has been discovered in the Nazca lines area of the arid Peruvian coastal plain.
Thousands of large drawings and lines with remarkable geometric precision were scratched on the arid soil surface in the area, which is on the Unesco World Heritage List, between 500 BC. C. and 500 d. C.
The cat drawing is believed to be over 2000 years old and was found during work on a hill, known as the Natural Lookout, where many land drawings converge in a straight line.
Jhony Islas / Ministry of Culture of Peru – Nasca-Palpa / AP
The cat drawing was on the side of a hill known as the Natural Lookout, a focal point of the lines in the Nazca lines area.
Peru’s Ministry of Culture said the newly discovered “figurative geoglyph – corresponding to a feline” had been drawn on the hill.
When found, the figure was barely visible and was about to disappear due to its location on a rather steep slope and the effects of natural erosion, the ministry said.
The cleaning and conservation of the geoglyph revealed the figure of a feline, with the body in profile and the head in front. It was mostly well defined by lines 30-40 cm wide.
Jhony Islas / Ministry of Culture of Peru – Nasca-Palpa / AP
The drawing of the cat was barely visible when it was discovered.
The style of the drawing indicates that it comes from the late Paracas period (370-200 BC). Representations of felines of this type were common in Paracas ceramics and textiles.
Johny Isla, chief archaeologist of the Peruvian lines, told the Spanish news agency Efe that in recent years 80-100 figures prior to the Nazca culture (200-700 AD) had been discovered.
“They are smaller in size, drawn on the slopes, and clearly belong to an earlier tradition.”
The ministry said that the lines and geoglyphs of the area make up a cultural landscape with deep meaning and symbolism, which expresses the magical and religious world of the Paracas and Nazca societies.
