In 2022, we shared news of a monumental discovery in Peru’s Nazca Pampa, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was once home to pre-Inca indigenous peoples who loved etching giant works of art into the Earth’s surface. Discovered in 1927, archaeologists have spent nearly a century uncovering 430 figurative symbols depicting animals, humans and hybrid creatures.
But thanks to a new AI-trained system, researchers have identified an additional 303 drawings in just six months, as described in a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Included in the findings are various birds, cats, ceremonial acts and even a killer whale wielding a weapon.
The works date back at least 2,000 years and provide insight into the cultural and spiritual practices of the ancient civilization. Although theories about the lines’ purpose range from calendars to agriculture and human migration, researchers know they were created by removing darker rocks to reveal lighter desert sand beneath.
While drones have helped identify the giant line drawings that stretch across the desert, the AI model is adept at detecting the smaller, relief-like renderings that mainly depict wildlife and are harder to find.
The largest of the hieroglyphs mainly depict people, domesticated animals and solitary heads and “are generally within viewing distance (average 43 meters) of ancient paths crossing the Nazca Pampa and were most likely built and viewed at individual or small sites. at the group level,” the researchers say, noting that the smaller ones “are on average 34 meters away from the extensive linear/trapezoidal network of geoglyphs, indicating that they were likely built at the community level and used for ritual activities.”
Using aerial and satellite images of the site along with LIDAR data, archaeologists trained the AI model to identify the sometimes imperceptible lines. The team then assessed and confirmed the results by traveling to the site. They estimate that the AI model is 21 times faster at detecting the works than humans. (via Smithsonian Magazine)
