Nasca Lines may be giant map of underground water sources

American researcher David Johnson has advanced a theory that Nasca Lines may be related to water. He thinks that the geoglyphs may be a giant map of the underground water sources traced on the land.

The Nasca Lines are located in the Peruvian desert, about 200 miles south of Lima. The assortment of perfectly-straight lines lies in an area measuring 37 miles long and 1-mile wide.

The Nasca plain is one of the driest places on Earth, getting less than one inch of rain a year. So, when Johnson started his research in 1995, he became aware of the scarcity of water in the region and the effect that this had on agricultural production and the quality of life. 

While looking for sources of water, he noticed that ancient aqueducts, called puquios, seemed to be connected with some of the lines.

The expert said that a high percentage of potable water of the mountain chain moves through underground filtrations and that the pre-Hispanic population knew perfectly the cartography of water.

He said that lines like the ones in Nasca would be “a language to communicate where underground wells and aqueducts are located”.

Johnson gave each figure a meaning: the trapezoids always point to a well. The circles to a place where the fountain is located. And the complex figures as well. For example, the hummingbird points to a giant well with its beak.

Field works along 1,700 kilometers of the Peruvian and Chilean coast, including very ancient civilizations such as Caral and Arica, support the theory that "way to communicate" would be a common practice among all pre-Hispanic cultures.