Atacama Giant

Coordinates: 19°56′56″S 69°37′59″W / 19.94889°S 69.63306°W / -19.94889; -69.63306

The Atacama Giant.

The Atacama Giant (Spanish: Gigante de Atacama) is a large anthropomorphic geoglyph in the Atacama Desert, Chile.[1] Located at "Cerro Unitas", this is the largest prehistoric anthropomorphic figure in the world with a length of 119 metres (390 ft), representing a deity for the local inhabitants from AD 1000 to 1400.

The figure was an early astronomical calendar for knowing where the moon would set; by knowing this the day, crop cycle, and season could be determined. The points on the top and side of the head would say what season it would be depending on their alignment with the moon, which was very important in determining when the rainy season would come in the barren Atacama.

Geoglyphs of Chile

The Atacama Giant is one out of nearly 5,000 geoglyphs - ancient artwork that is drawn into the landscape - that have been discovered in the Atacama in the last three decades.[2] Although geoglyphs have always been the subject of wild conjectures and bizarre theories, it is now widely believed that they are the work of several successive cultures that dwelt in this region of South America, including the Tiwanaku and Inca.

Tiwanaku

In 2014, the Dakar rally damaged a 10,000km route by running their motorcycle over and damaging it including villages, cemeteries, and others.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ "Geoglyphs of Earth". Blue Knight Productions. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Hirst, K. Kris. "The Geoglyphic Art of Chile's Atacama Desert Messages, Memories and Rites of the Landscape". about.com. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Watts, Jonathan (16 January 2014). "Chile's Dakar Rally criticised by greens, archaeologists and indigenous groups". the Guardian.
  4. ↑ "Dakar Rally blamed for damaging Chile's historic sites". 15 January 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.