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dchuk
How do they accurately assess the age of these things?
nigamanth
From the fossils or artifacts of that time, the value will be estimated but even the estimated value shows just how big human history is.
ljf
Estimates are around 500BC max - so nothing much in the picture of known human history, and a little too young for fossils.

Still amazing, and a culture it would be fascinating to better understand.

2muchcoffeeman
This is just an exercise in scanning through google earth images now right? They don’t have to deploy their own hardware to get aerial images right?
hedgehog
I'm not sure about this specific case but generally commercial wide coverage satellite imagery is not high quality enough to reliably see these kinds of formations. I'd guess they contract some combination of imaging including LIDAR to get better images to work from. That lets you see through vegetation etc. Here's an example from Tikal:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/lidar-reveals-oldest-big...

deltarholamda
The article explains. They are using drone footage and AI to recognize likely patterns.

These geoglyphs (they think) are older than the classic Nazca lines as some of the designs are similar to people who were around before the Nazca people, around 200BC I believe, and the Nazca are somewhere in the 1000-1500 AD range. They are also on hillsides instead of on the plains, so they are susceptible to natural erosion. That's why they're using the AI to suss out likely designs from the "damaged" areas.

lifeisstillgood
Every time I dig into the Nazca mystery I am reminded of crop circles. Certainly in the UK they are not alien landing sites (!) but made by a couple of farm hands with rope and some planks.

I can never prove it, but I hope in some Peruvian heaven there are a couple of generations of jokers looking down and absolutely pissing themselves over this, how their priests were fooled and now us.

Pour a Pisco Sour guys and enjoy :-)

jasonhansel
It's not really a mystery. The geoglyphs are visible from surrounding hills and other vantage points on the ground. They're essentially just giant works of art.
lifeisstillgood
The mystery is not "did aliens do it", the mystery is who and why.

I love the idea that it was not the High Priest who used their extensive elite status, wealth and power to create signs to the gods to bolster their own elite status, but that instead it was a bottom up rebellious act of "real" art

reactspa
Unbelievable (to me) that they allowed this highway to be constructed: https://imgur.com/pYdShSA
lostlogin
Yikes.

They needed to beat the travesty at Stonehenge. https://www.highwaysindustry.com/turner-townsend-wins-work-k...

goodcanadian
That is a very old picture. That road has been removed.
muststopmyths
Not true. I was there less than 2 weeks ago. And it’s the panamerican highway. Not going to be just “removed”