Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 / PBS Video App
One of the world’s greatest ancient enigmas, the Nazca lines are a dense network of criss-crossing lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures etched across 200 square miles of Peruvian desert. Who created them and why? Ever since they were rediscovered in the 1920s, scholars and enthusiasts have raised countless theories about their purpose. Now, archaeologists have discovered hundreds of long-hidden lines and figures as well as evidence of ancient rituals, offering new clues to the origins and motivations behind the giant desert symbols.
Participants include Nilda Alvarez, Delia Aponte, Aïcha Bacha, David Beresford-Jones, Alfonso Garcia, Candy Hurtado, Johny Isla, Nicola Masini, Giuseppe Orefici, Masato Sakai, Charles Stanish, Henry Tantaleán, Elsa Tomasto-Cagigao, Oliver Whaley.
Related: Peru’s Nazca Line etchings depict bird species not native to the area
Related: What Prompted the Mass Sacrifice of Hundreds of Children and Llamas in Ancient Peru?
Watch On Your Schedule:
NOVA "Nazca Desert Mystery" premieres Wednesday, Nov.2, 2022 at 9 p.m. ET/8C on PBS. The film will also be available for streaming online at pbs.org/nova, and via the PBS Video App.
Join The Conversation: