San Diego Scientist May Have Solved Ancient Mystery Of Nazca Lines In Peru

A San Diego scientist believes he may have the answer to what formed the mysterious shapes etched into desert sands in Southern Peru.

The Nazca Lines is a series of pre-Columbian geoglyphs that vary from straight lines to circles forming animal shapes. They are between 1,500 to 2,500 years old, according to the OC Register.

UNESCO designed the Nazca Lines as a World Heritage site in 1994, but scientists have been debating how they came to be and what their purpose was to this day.

Some believe they have a religious significance, others say they have an astrological connection, and many argue they could point to communication with aliens.

Environmental scientist Mike Tucker thinks their origin story might be much simpler and resourceful.

While visiting the Nazca Lines with his family, Tucker had a realization.

“When they dipped the plane, it reminded me of the circular farm fields in Southern California,” Tucker said. “Then I immediately connected the dots (that the Nazca crop fields) were probably irrigated with runoff from the hillside and that you could probably irrigate the crops with one watering.”

Tucker then checked Google to see if there were any references to farming. He found that a former National Geographic explorer-in-residence, Johan Reinhard concluded in the 1970s that "the lines did not point at anything on the geographical or celestial horizon, but rather led to places where rituals were performed to obtain water.”