Mysterious Subterranean Water Channels Of Nazca Peru

[Skywizard]

• Ancient Peruvian Nazca culture built large spiraling funnels into the desert
• Known as puquios, they have baffled archaeologists as to their use
• Research suggests they helped to draw water along underwater canals
• Data from satellite reveals they are still helping to irrigate some areas

Strange spiraling holes dotted across the arid valleys of southern Peru have puzzled generations of archaeologists.

But researchers believe they may have solved the mystery of the Nazca holes, known as puquios, with the help of satellite images and data.

They said the holes formed part of a 'sophisticated' hydraulic system that allowed the ancient Nazca civilization to retrieve water from underground aquifers.

Holes scattered across the arid valleys of southern Peru, known
as puquios, are thought to have formed part of a sophisticated
hydraulic system that helped to irrigate the surrounding desert.
The spiraling holes funnelled wind into canals below, helping to
move water along them.

The Nazca culture, which flourished around 100BC to 800AD, were the same people who created the vast geoglyphs on the featureless landscape, also known as the Nazca lines.

Rosa Lasaponara, from the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis in Italy, said the holes appear to have allowed the Nazca to survive in the notoriously drought hit region.

The Nazca culture, which flourished around 100BC to 800AD, were the same people who created the vast geoglyphs on the featureless landscape, also known as the Nazca lines.

Rosa Lasaponara, from the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis in Italy, said the holes appear to have allowed the Nazca to survive in the notoriously drought hit region.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=N14Q-9jpAPM

The puquio are found close to the city of Nazca (shown on map) and
are thought to have been built by the ancient Nazca culture that lived
in the region.

'Exploiting an inexhaustible water supply throughout the year, the puquio system contributed to an intensive agriculture of the valleys in one of the most arid places in the world.'

Archaeologists have long suspected the puquios were used as part of an aqueduct system, but how they worked has been poorly understood.

They are thought to be distinct from the huge bands of holes that can be seen in the nearby Pico Valley, which are though to have been used by the Nasca for storage.

Dr Lasaponara and her team used satellite images to examine how the puquios were distributed across the Nazca region in relation to ancient networks of trenches.

They also examined current soil moisture and vegetation change in the region using satellite data.

The puquio are thought to be distinct from the huge bands of holes
that can be seen in the nearby Pico Valley, which are thought to have
been used by the Nazca for storage.

The group concluded the puquios appear to have helped irrigate the surrounding landscape through the network of channels.

In some cases there is evidence the puquios are still functioning to a lesser degree today.

It is thought they operated by channelling wind into the earth down the corkscrew holes and into a series of underground canals that carried water from aquifers.

This influx of air kept the water moving along the canals, forcing it out into the network of channels in areas where it was needed.

'Despite the arid and extreme nature of the environment, this region was populated by important civilizations, such as Paracas and Nazca, which flourished in the Early Intermediate period (200 BCE-500 AD),' they explained.

'In particular the Nazca civilisation is well-known for its refined and colourful pottery, characterized by a rich icononographic repertory, and, above all, by the huge and mysterious geoglyphs drawn on the arid plateaus of the Rio Grande de Nazca Basin.

'In order to practice agriculture, the Nazca developed adequate strategies to cope with hostile environmental factors and water scarcity, building a very efficient aqueduct system.

'They were aided by the fact that underground water was likely enough close to the surface and accessible by constructing wells and underground aqueducts, known with quechua name of puquios.

'The effectiveness of the techniques of hydraulic engineering depended on the climate and the weather events that sometimes underwent drastic changes, as results of the cyclical phenomenon of El Niño Southern Oscillation.'

The Nazca are perhaps more famous for the giant geoglyphs and images etched into the desert of Peru. Little is known about this civilisation as they had no writing system.

But Dr Lasaponara claims the construction of the puquios shows just how sophisticated they were.





Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...on-system.html



peace...

[Cardillac]

this doesn't surprise me in the least-

if the incredible, unexplainable (well, to most) Nazca lines are on the surface why shouldn't there be something underneath as well?

am just wondering...

Larry

[Hervé]

See this thread as well: Back Then, Some People Could Think!

[meat suit]

looking at these again just now, it occurres to me that they might have been planted with vegetables, acting like a mini spiral terrace..
watering from the top, the water would slowly make its way down the spiral, irrigating the crops on its way down... just a thought...

[Sunny-side-up]

fascinating.
I would like to see a temperature and moisture graph from surface down along the spiral.
Same for air quality.