Mysterious Nazca Holes Explained with the Aid of Satellites?

Most people, particularly those who would frequent a site like ATS, are familiar with the Nazca lines. Somewhat less well known but still likely familiar to most of you is the band of holes in the Pisco Valley but these aren't the only mysterious holes in the Nazca region of Peru.

Nazca is one of the most arid places on the planet with an annual rainfall of about 4 millimeters (~0.16 inches) and for fresh water, many denizens of the area still rely on a an ancient and mostly functional aqueduct system comprised of 36 (known) curious spiraling holes known as puquios. There are conflicting theories about who constructed the puquios, with many archaeologists attributing them to the Nazca culture and others to the Spanish.

image source
image source

Now, an Italian team from the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis led by Rosa Lasaponara, with the aid of satellite imagery, have proposed an intriguing new hypothesis which points to a very sophisticated level of engineering:

Discovery News - Ancient Peruvian Mystery Solved From Space

By considering their positioning relative to water resources and to settlements, they were able to piece together a picture of just how extraordinarily advanced the puquio system was. The corkscrew-shaped tunnels, Lasaponara concluded, funneled wind into a series of underground canals, forcing water to places in the arid region where it was needed.

“The puquios were the most ambitious hydraulic project in the Nasca area and made water available for the whole year, not only for agriculture and irrigation but also for domestic needs,” she told the BBC. “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.”

The puquios’ construction, added Lasaponara, “involved the use of particularly specialized technology,” and their maintenance “was likely based on a collaborative and socially organized system, similar to that adopted for the construction of the famous ’Nazca lines‘ which in some cases are clearly related to the presence of water.”

a reply to: theantediluvian

great timing. I'm just on my way to Nazca in 3 weeks time. Will be sure to visit this. Never heard of it before.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Now how the heck did they know these shapes would cause the wind to push water to the more arid regions? Absolutely inCredible.

Slayer69 will appreciate this thread I know I did

originally posted by: theantediluvian


Now, an Italian team from the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis led by Rosa Lasaponara, with the aid of satellite imagery, have proposed an intriguing new hypothesis which points to a very sophisticated level of engineering:


“The puquios were the most ambitious hydraulic project in the Nasca area and made water available for the whole year, not only for agriculture and irrigation but also for domestic needs,” she told the BBC. “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.”

The puquios’ construction, added Lasaponara, “involved the use of particularly specialized technology,” and their maintenance “was likely based on a collaborative and socially organized system, similar to that adopted for the construction of the famous ’Nazca lines‘ which in some cases are clearly related to the presence of water.”

Irrigation from below, that's clever, no doubt less evaporation too.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Very interesting, I thought these were constructed as wells, but have never seen the photo from the air before.
Its curious how the are constructed along a straight-ish line and how some are even right next to each other.

I will have to have another look at theory about wind forcing the water to other areas as I would imagine some structures above ground would be needed to funnel the wind into the holes if they were to be effective?
Anyway interesting food for thought I will come back to this when I have more time.

originally posted by: MarioOnTheFly
a reply to: theantediluvian

great timing. I'm just on my way to Nazca in 3 weeks time. Will be sure to visit this. Never heard of it before.

Fun.

Have a great trip and be sure to share anything interesting!

originally posted by: MarioOnTheFly
a reply to: theantediluvian

great timing. I'm just on my way to Nazca in 3 weeks time. Will be sure to visit this. Never heard of it before.

Nice! I have been trying to plant the seed with my wife that we should really take a trip to Peru while we're young (youngish, whatever!). I think if I had to choose between Nazca and Cusco, I'd go with the latter though — it's close to Machu Picchu and Saksaywaman and then there's the Spanish colonial architecture and several museums.

Nazca has plenty to see though beyond the lines:

Chauchilla Cemetery
Cahuachi Ruins

There's also the Pardeones Ruins. Apparently admission to the Pardeones Ruins also covers entrance to a section of the ancient aqueduct where you can see some of the puquios up close. This site has some even more points of interest in the area.

a reply to: surfer_soul

I think it would be interesting to see them plotted on a topographical map. I suspect that they're located in areas where the winds are channeled. I've read other theories that they were access points to clean out the aqueducts but that doesn't seem to make much sense given the proximity.

a reply to: theantediluvian

So, basically, "they" are saying that these exist for the sole purpose of causing a bit of current to the water to make it go certain places?

This is one of those instances where the hypothesis is pretty intriguing, but my gut is telling me that it's a little too fantastical in practicality to be accurate.

I mean, wouldn't it make more sense, then, to evenly space them to keep the current constant? Or even to make them more like angled spiral tunnels than to make them only vertical? Or, even better, build up the rock walls around the spirals to catch more wind?

I just find it to be a little too inefficient (in theory) for this to be the main purpose.

a reply to: theantediluvian
I recently watched a video by Brian Forester on the subject, very interesting indeed.

a reply to: theantediluvian

The corkscrew-shaped tunnels, Lasaponara concluded, funneled wind into a series of underground canals, forcing water to places in the arid region where it was needed.

Maybe i'm being churlish, but i don't see anything particularly astonishing about this hypothesis.

Indians witnessed tornado..saw the power they had...made their own version on and under the ground for moving / pushing water.

Native peoples always look to emulate elements of nature and always have.

Clever, but not astonishing.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Without seeing their analysis it's difficult to have much of an opinion. Off the top of my head though, rock walls could be problematic because even if they assisted in directing the flow of air down into the hole when it was blowing in one direction, they'd block the wind when it was blowing the opposite direction. The same could be said of angling the holes. It would really depend on the topography, wind patterns etc.

My initial thoughts were that they were simply stepwells (like the ones in India) but why cluster them like that? I've read other theories about them being used to clean out debris but again, why so many so close together?

Did each family unit perhaps make its own well perhaps.....
The wind effect would seem to work whichever way the wind blew as the well and its stages are circular....
The temp gradient in desert climate would I imagine produce pretty constant winds.....
The spacing could be the result of natural extension of the system over time...reclaiming a little more arable land with every installation don't you think?
Kind of like a vine growing....
Im spitballing now, but I wonder if the Golden Mean is buried in their construction/ engineering principals as well...

My God, how fantastic.

Man is a wonderful observer. And when combined with his ability to think in the abstract and the ability to connect seemingly disparate concepts (just as a result of the way we think, using prior context), we become extremely clever little apes.

There is a story about ancient Amerinds using chelation to "melt stone". While that doesn't seem to be scaled up to pyramid levels....seeing this kind of creativity and letting my mind wander to what observations led to its realization....it really does make you wonder.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Brilliant thread, I already knew the south american indigenous cultures rivaled and perhaps exceeded even the roman's hydro engineering but this show's they also had men likely every bit as gifted and Leonardo Da'Vinci and Archimedes of Syracuse.

If only Bishop De'Landa and other spanish missionary's had not set out to destroy the history and record's of these ancient cultures, one can only wonder what fogotten secret's they may have contained and how we may today really see history as that pandora's box of lost memory was opened to modern eye's.

a reply to: theantediluvian

wow thanks for the links man. Now I have to read them I already went to the Nazca drawings few years back. But I've never heard of these..."holes".

we are on a road trip...Lima, Paracas,Nazca, Arequipa, Lake Titicaca, Cuzco, Lima. It's 3,000 something km road trip.

Also on a to do list is a quick hop to the PumaPunku site in Bolivia.

If we make it back...I'll drop a few pics in a new thread

a reply to: theantediluvian

You won't be sorry picking cusco and machu pichu first. My wife is from peru and we have gone back frequently to visit family, we have gone to both and both are worth the trip but I was more amazed by machu pichu and the city of cusco. I think thier is more to pack in and do and see for a first timer. Bazaars, shops, museums, restaurants and taverns, historical sites, the train ride up to the town below machu pichu, so much it's hard to get it all in. Machu pichu and cusco is a definate bucket list trip.

a reply to: rumcrook

indeed...completely agree. Machu Pichu is brethtaking...best hurry up OP...while it's still standing. I heard that the site is a bit in jeopardy. Too many tourists apparently.

a reply to: LABTECH767

Could you imagine what we could find?

Works such as these are the result of humans finding time to sit, observe, and dream. Without an IPhone to take up their time, and without a TV to keep them indoors, once a human was able to sit and contemplate instead of simply surviving all those observational skills and abstract thinking capabilities kicked in.

I still hold out hope that somewhere underground and locked away are parts of this history. I guess it matters what the indigenous folks considered valuable. Being religiously preoccupied, it seems, i wonder if their most treasured items related to religious items? There are legends that a lot of stuff got secreted away somewhere. I hope its not just a bunch of gold and ornamental treasure items.

a reply to: theantediluvian

The close equivalent to these in places such as Iran are Khariz, in the Arabic Qanat, see Lines upon the Landscape an ancient technology, the access holes in those systems are also very close together and it's unlikely to have anything to do with the wind.



The reason for the elaborate Nazca constructions is more likely the depth the water was beneath the ground, the stable construction gave good access and no chance of collapse and blockage.

a reply to: LABTECH767

The Romans actually built the greatest Qanat...

Qanat Firaun