Bradshaw Foundation Latest News
Bradshaw Foundation Latest News
Bradshaw Foundation Latest News
Bradshaw Foundation - Latest News
Orca geoglyph rediscovered in Peru
Wednesday 15 November 2017

An article by Roberto Ochoa B. in Peru's La Republica and translated by Martin Barco - Fascinating orca geoglyph discovered in Palpa - reports on the rediscovery of the enormous geoglyph depicting an orca. 

Orca geoglyph discovered in Peru

The orca geoglyph rediscovered in Palpa. Image: Johny Isla Cuadrado/La Republica.

The archaeological findings in the Nasca and Palpa deserts do not cease to attract worldwide attention. Attention is now focused on the geoglyph depicting an orca, a cetaceous present in the iconography of the Nasca culture. It was considered a marine deity and is often depicted in the ancient pottery and ceramics of Peru. It is considered one of the oldest and most enigmatic figures on the Palpa-Nasca route.

Orca geoglyph discovered in Peru. Cetaceous present in the iconography of the Nasca culture.

An element of the iconography of the Nasca culture. Image: Johny Isla Cuadrado/La Republica.

It was first discovered in the 1960's by German archaeologists, but during a restoration and research project on the Nasca and Palpa geoglyphs, an archaeological team led by Johny Isla Cuadrado, head of the Ica region's branch of the Ministry of Culture, the material in Germany revealed an image of the orca geoglyph, but with only scant records of it in the Peruvian inventory. Its location and dimensions were not accurate, which is why it has taken so long to locate. The geoglyph was considered lost.

 
Article continues below
 

The huge geoglyph, roughly 60 metres long and 25 metres wide, is engraved on a hillside located in the Palpa in the Ica region of Peru, an area explored and researched by the late archaeologist Maria Reiche. In the 1990's Markus Reindel and Johny Isla discovered up to 1000 geoglyphs in the Palpa valley, some of which are 400 metres in length.

Isla states that unlike the Nasca Lines the Orca geoglyph is depicted on a hillside, suggesting that it is one of the earliest geoglyphs in this area. Indeed, most of the Palpa geoglyphs were created on hillsides, thought to face the valleys below, and in so doing designate them as sacred areas. New research at the University of Yamagata in Japan indicates that the geoglyphs may have been made and used by multiple cultures for many reasons, hence the variety.

Palpa & Nasca are neighboring provinces, both located in the Ica region. The geoglyps of Nasca and Palpa, distributed in an area of roughly 450 sq km, belong to the Nasca Culture. The Palpa geoglyphs are considered to be the oldest. The Paracas culture, an Andean society between approximately 800 BC and 100 BC, with an extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management and significant contributions in the textile arts, preceded the Nasca Culture, which flourished from roughly 100 BC to 800 AD.

This remarkable geoglyph is endangered, however, due to land traffickers, a problem that is affecting the entire Palpa site. The land traffickers consider the area as fallow land, which they have claimed to have purchased, despite it belonging to the Peruvian State.

See more on the rock art of Peru:
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/peru/index.php

Rock Art
Held accountable for damage to rock art in Spain
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 09 August 2024
Scientific Exploration Society
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 24 July 2024
New dating for the oldest known rock art in Indonesia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 04 July 2024
Cave Painting
Capturing the art of Cosquer
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 30 May 2022
Hand Stencils in Chhattisgarh
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 19 January 2022
New U-series dating of rock art in China
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 January 2022
Paleoanthropology
Lee Berger named NGS Explorer in Residence
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 21 March 2023
New study on Neanderthal hunting and butchery
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 07 February 2023
Denisovan connection in Laos
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 19 May 2022
Archaeology
Palaeolithic dwelling found in La Garma cave
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 04 December 2023
New publication: Cave of Bones
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 30 June 2023
Circles of Stone
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 April 2023
Anthropology
Early Women Were Hunters
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 14 July 2023
BBC's Nature and Us
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 22 November 2021
South Pacific Islanders used obsidian for tattoos
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 12 July 2016
World Heritage
Burrup Peninsula in World Heritage delays
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 27 November 2023
Fire damage on Rapa Nui
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 07 October 2022
Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 05 November 2021
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation
on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation
on social media for news & updates
If you have enjoyed visiting this website
please consider adding a link © Bradshaw Foundation
 
 
ROCK ART NETWORK
Rock Art Network Bradshaw Foundation Getty Conservation Institute
ROCK ART
CAVE PAINTINGS
Capturing the art of Cosquer
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 30 May 2022
Hand Stencils in Chhattisgarh
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 19 January 2022
New U-series dating of rock art in China
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 January 2022
PALEOANTHROPOLOGY
ARCHAEOLOGY
Palaeolithic dwelling found in La Garma cave
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 04 December 2023
New publication: Cave of Bones
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 30 June 2023
Circles of Stone
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 April 2023
ANTHROPOLOGY
Early Women Were Hunters
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 14 July 2023
BBC's Nature and Us
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 22 November 2021
South Pacific Islanders used obsidian for tattoos
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 12 July 2016
WORLD HERITAGE
Burrup Peninsula in World Heritage delays
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 27 November 2023
Fire damage on Rapa Nui
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 07 October 2022
Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 05 November 2021
BOOK REVIEWS
Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
Support our work & become a
Friend of the Foundation
 
 
 
Bradshaw Foundation YouTube
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store