2,000-Year-Old Cat Discovered Etched Among Nazca Lines In Peru

AmyBrown

Oct 22, 2020 9:00 AM EDT

Cats were as important 2,000 years ago as they are today! Important enough to be etched into the desert among the Nazca lines in Peru.

In the dun sands of Southern Peru, lays the Nazca lines, hundreds of geometric and zoomorphic images. Figured etched centuries ago with geoglyphs of an orca, what some believe to be an astronaut, a monkey, and a hummingbird. These figures are said to be dated between 200BC and 100BC. And just recently, a new figure has been discovered - the feline.

An enormous cat Nazca line emerged while officials worked to improve access to one of the hills that would provide a wonderful and natural vantage point, in which a handful of the designs could be seen.

Peru's culture ministry said in a statement, "The figure was scarcely visible and was about to disappear because it's situated on quite a steep slope that's prone to the effects of natural erosion. Over the past week, the geoglyph was cleaned and conserved, and shows a feline figure in profile, with its head facing the front."

The new feline discovery is said to be 37meters long.

Johny Isla, Peru's chief archaeologist for the lines, told the Spanish news agency Efe, "It's quite striking that we're still finding new figures, but we also know that there are more to be found."

Isla continues, "Over the past few years, the use of drones has allowed us to take images of hillsides."

Story via The Guardian

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" The feline figure, seen on a hillside in Nazca, Peru, has been cleaned and conserved since its discovery."

via Jhony Islas/AP
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"Archaeologists carry out maintenance work at the site."

via Jhony Islas/AP
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via Jhony Islas/AP
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via Jhony Islas/AP
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In 2019 alone, over 140 geoglyphs were found by researchers in the region

via CNN