Archaeologists found an image of a giant cat in Peru's Nazca Desert. (Photo: EPA / BBC)
IMAGE of a giant cat found in Peru's Nazca Desert. The Nazca Lines itself has been designated a Unesco World Heritage site because there are many designs on the ground there known as geoglyphs that were made about 2,000 years ago.
Scientists believe that the image of the giant cat just discovered, like the other Nazca animal figures, was created by making a hollow in the desert floor, then leaving the colored ground open.
Previously, the image of the giant cat was of little concern. Until a time when researchers were making a new path that led to the observation platform, they discovered the giant pattern.
The observation platform itself will provide a favorable vantage point for visitors to view the many other geoglyphs of the Nazca Desert.
"The figure is almost invisible and can disappear because it is located on a fairly steep slope which is prone to natural erosion effects," said the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, as quoted by the BBC , Monday (19/10/2020).
It explained that the giant cat geoglyph, which is approximately 37 meters (120 feet) long, has been cleaned and conserved over the past week.
Johny Isla, Peruvian chief archaeologist for the Nazca Lines, told Efe news agency that the image of the big cat predates the Nazca culture, which is known to create most of the figures from 200 to 700 AD.
The image of the giant cat, he said, actually comes from the end of Paracas, which is around 500 BC to 200 AD.
"We know that from comparing iconography," he said.
"Paracas textiles, for example, feature birds, cats and people who can easily be compared to this geoglyph," he concluded.
Hantoro, Journalist