Are there labyrinths to be found under the Nazca lines?
A lot has been puzzled over these mysterious geoglyphs, of course also as regards their meaning. The supposedly oldest ones were created from 800 BCE on. They most probably served religious purposes.
There are numerous variations, many with geometric shapes, even double spirals.
Nazca Lines © rrosas1004
The meander is part of them and with that we already have a similarity to the labyrinth. The double spiral is also an essential element for the Wunderkreis which has been passed on up to the present day . Gundula has found out a logical alignment for the lines in the top right corner of the previous picture. I have brought them into a geometrically correct and compact form.
Nazca Labyrinth
There is no real middle in which the paths end, but rather two entrances. We have a walk-through labyrinth in front of us. Other labyrinth qualities are the uninterrupted, winding path with some turns, however, without forks or dead ends. Single elements are rotated and mirrored, depicting a sort of symmetry. A certain resemblance to the Babylonian walk-through labyrinths is recognizable, even if the entrances lie at two different places and are not side by side.
We do not know exactly what these lines have served for. However, nowadays, many archeologists incline to the view that these are processional ways used for ceremonies. Certainly not in the same sense as we do it today in a labyrinth, but for cultic purposes.
Even if one does not recognise this figure as “a real” labyrinth, it is at least prelabyrinthine and appeared in quite an other culture than the hitherto known labyrinths.
Here the layout drawing as a prototype with the dimension for the axis of 1 meter:
Layout drawing
Here the layout drawing as a PDF file to watch/print/copy/save (for non commercial uses only) …
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blogmymaze 
Me too Erwin! wonderful post. Is the Monkey not a labyrinth as well ?
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Els, the Monkey can be considered as a labyrinth too, because there is only one uninterrupted line. But it has not so much turns.
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I have been intrigued by the Nazca lines for years… really enjoyed this post Erwin, Thank you!
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