BEACONS FOR THE GODS

'We must make our creations great upon the land that the sky gods may view them.' (An ancient legend of South America.)

Look, what in heaven's name is that?' 'What are you talking about? Where?' `Down there--down there on the desert-on the sand!

''I still don't know what you're talking about. What do you see?'

'Can't you see those hundreds of radiating lines? They look like some kind of pathways or roads, and yet...

'Good God, now I see them! What could they possibly be? And look over there, on the right, those aren't lines, they look like figures of great birds...

'And there directly beneath us is the figure of a man wearing a big crown!'

'I don't know what those things are, but when we land I intend to ask a lot of questions. Those perfectly straight lines almost look like beacons!'

The above conversation took place between two pilots who were flying their plane about 4,000 feet above the area between Nazca and Palpa, Peru, several years ago. Nazca is 471 kilometres south of Lima and not far from the coast of Peru.

The radiating lines, animals, platforms and abstractions the pilots saw that day were nothing new under the Peruvian sun, but had actually been on the eternally rainless southern desert for hundreds and hundreds of years and fill hundreds of square miles of that same desert.

Figure No. 26 will give you an idea of what those two men saw that day for the first time from the air in modern times. The photograph was taken north of Nazca on January 4, 1945, at an altitude of 3,000 feet by the Peruvian Air Force. [This, and all other photographs of the 'desert beacons' is through the courtesy of the Servicio Aerofotografico Nacional which gave me access to the archives of the Peruvian Air Ministry and permission to publish their excellent aerial photographs.]

The strange delineations of the barren plains and tablelands near Nazca are in an area that was once the very centre of a highly evolved culture. To the north is Paracas where archaeologists have found 2,000 year old textiles in hundreds of caverns. Mummies were wrapped in textiles that are of such fantastic and imaginative beauty that scientists claim them to be some of the finest weavings in the world. This area also supported the Nazcas, a 'shadowy people' whose identity was revealed by their magnificent pottery of polychromic colors and adorned with stylized representations of animals, birds, monsters and gods. The ancient people of the beautiful textiles and also those of the elaborate and colorful ceramics lived on the coast of Peru hundreds of years before the coming of the Incas who wished to found an Empire.

The astronomically perfect lines and figures must have meant nothing to the Inca conquerors and invaders. In fact, I doubt very much if they ever saw them at all for they laid their great twenty-four-foot Aide coastal road--the Royal Road of Lord Inca--right through many of the patterns and pathways. This is our first proof that the lines and figures were not made by the Incas, and were, in fact, unknown to them.

In the last few years, many theories have been presented to explain the origin of this 'mystery on the desert'; all of these theories are contradictory. The most popular idea was that the straight lines led to Pre-Inca buried treasure of the Nazca people. Another theory said the figures must have something to do with the riddle of the mummies that were found at Paracas. Yet another said that the pathways were in reality part of an ancient road system, but when they were traced and followed, it was discovered that they led to nowhere, for they begin and end in the desert. Another idea said that the lines had formerly been irrigation ditches.

Dr. Paul Kosok, historian of Long Island University, was the first scientist to make an investigation into the mystery, in 1941, and proved the delineations could never have been roads, treasure indicators or agricultural furrows.

For centuries travelers have traversed the desert on their way from one valley to another and have crossed over parts of the great patterns thousands of times yet, they knew not what they were crossing over. Again, it is a question of not seeing the forest for the trees. I believe the Nazca people knew something about these lines and figures but I do not believe they were the designers or builders. After the conquest of these people by the Inca army, the patterns were nearly forgotten. And if there were one or two of the priesthood amongst the Nazca who retained the secret, this knowledge was completely obliterated by the coming of Don Francisco Pizarro, the murder of the Inca Atahualpa and the conquest of the Empire of the Sun in I533.

The Spanish were too concerned with the plundering of sun temples and convents of sun virgins to pay any attention to marks on a dusty desert. It is very doubtful if they would have noticed them anyway.

Civilized men have come from all over the world since the day of Pizarro to pass back and forth over the Nazca-Palpa area, but no one ever knew what he was walking over. Only from an aeroplane can the absolutely straight lines and borders of elongated surfaces be appreciated. The dimensions are astonishing for only small fractions of them can be seen unless one is very high in an aeroplane. The arrangement is a curious one of stars, groups of parallels and zigzags, all appearing as though they had been created on some gigantic drawing-board.

One scientist who viewed the immense patterns from the air said:

Below us stretching out in all directions on the flat grey plain of flint rock was a vast network of drawn lines. A series of rectangles as wide as airfields and long straight lines... some originating from a single complex, others from no source at all... went off in every variant of the compass to fade away at the end into nothing. There were lines, triangles, circles of all sizes appearing at frequent intervals. As we looked down fascinated at the bewildering maze spread beneath us, we realized that we were looking at yet another of the great mysteries of the southern Peruvian deserts, this time at the so-called 'Lines of Nazca'.

Actually, the gigantic designs are very shallow surface depressions. The light color they display was produced by a very simple process. The plains and mountains of this region are exceptionally rich in iron, and therefore the characteristic color is reddish dark brown. This color has been produced by oxidation and the effect of thousands of years of daily morning dew followed by excessive heat. Therefore it does not go deeper than one or two inches. Underneath this color are yellowish white stones and gravel.

The contrast stated above made it possible for the builders to use the level surfaces as if they were enormous 'blackboards'. White designs could be produced on a very dark background by simply removing the upper layer of dark stones. Such stones were disposed of by being heaped up on both sides of the cleaned surfaces.

German scientist and mathematician Maria Reiche has made a very thorough study of the `Lines of Nazca' and in her report she says :

Being absolutely superficial, it is remarkable how these mysterious tracings have remained intact for over hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. Erosion has not had its effect in this region, so that every stone seems to have remained in its place since time immemorial. This is due to a special geographic and climatic situation, which is unique on the Peruvian coast.

As a rule, the Andes rise up to their great height from a narrow strip of coastal plains. These desert plains and the adjacent foothills are exposed to the winds from the sea. The winds deposit on the plains large amounts of sand, while to the foothills they carry enough moisture to support in the sunless season a temporary vegetation of bulbous plants which dries up every summer forming a layer of earth and humus.

In this region, the succession of coastal plains and mountains is interrupted by a tableland, twelve hundred feet above sea level, which is protected from the ocean winds by a range of elevations about three thousand feet high which runs along the coast. This tableland, the principal site of the ancient tracings, does not belong to the mountainous region with its occasional rainfalls, nor to the coast with its months of moist sunless weather. It forms a separate geographic and climatic unit, absolutely dry and with eternal sunshine, except for an occasional mist in the morning.

Coming by bus from the north, the traveler notices clearly the sudden transition, as he enters from a region which is often cloudy in winter into the full sunshine of a strangely picturesque landscape, where the dark violet-black mountains and plains in their fascinating contrast against the ever blue sky, seem to proclaim the great mystery they enclose.

The patterns have remained intact over thousands of years because of the unusual climatic conditions in this area. The limited space on the top of plateaus is usually completely covered with the complicated designs composed of short sharp turns or angles. Look closely at Figure No. 27 and you will see literally hundreds of them going in all directions as far as the eye can see. You will also notice irregular lines going in and out of the original tracings--these are the tracks left by the cars of today. This photograph was taken in the Valle del Ingenio on January 4, 1945, at an altitude of 4,000 feet.

The sites of the great designs comprise a strip about forty miles long from north to south and about one mile wide. Also, there are many other designs in isolated places in the adjacent mountainous region at the bottom of dry valleys.

Maria Reiche says:

We find tracings on top of small hills, on terraces halfway up the slopes of the deep valleys and behind mountain ranges. These ancient people must have been on a constant search for dark even surfaces, for it would appear that wherever there is a spot, no matter how small, it has been put to use for the designs.

Figure No. 28 shows the Pan-American Highway as a dark band in the foreground running across the entire picture. This was taken north of Nazca the same day as the photograph in Figure No. 27, and at the same altitude. Notice the immense lines and pathways near the centre of the photograph. Some end at the base of a small hill, and others actually go on over the hill.

The Servicio Aerofotografico Nacional has a number of vertical photographs whose scale (1/5000) is three times larger than that of all the other photographs it has taken. Through careful study of these large-scale photographs many startling details have come to light, details which never could have been detected from the ground nor on the smaller scale photographs. One discovery using this method was of the figures of `gods', large drawings in stone of great beings with enormous crowns on their heads and headdresses displaying rays or halos.

A tremendous amount of labor went into the making of the delineated fields. Maria Reiche says she does not know how the work was done nor with what tools. She hopes that some time an illustration will be found on pottery that will give us a clue to how it was done and with what. It is a well-known fact that many phases of ancient life are found depicted on pottery.

There are indications that the size of the delineated surfaces was standardized in some way. When one considers the technical skill needed to create these figures and lines, one realizes that the Spanish, the Incas and those just preceding them could never have accomplished it. First of all, there is the problem of the enormous amount of labor required. Second, the perfectly straight lines and borders cross great distances, cutting through many valleys and passing over plateaus without ever swerving from their original direction. Here is a feat of engineering equal to none. Third, think of the technical ability necessary to solve the complicated problem of the transfer of the elaborate figures from models (which must have existed) to a scale at least one hundred times greater.

Maria Reiche says:

It is hard to imagine how these ancient people with their limited knowledge could have projected these complicated patterns with such precision on the desert .. it is difficult to conceive how the people with their rudimentary implements could have produced something so complicated and technically involved. Only a race with a considerable amount of intelligence and perseverance could have succeeded in transferring animal and ornamental motifs from their pottery to the ground of the desert in exact proportion.

I don't believe the `ancient people with their limited knowledge' had anything to do with the figures or lines outside of the construction of some very crude and much smaller copies. I believe ancient people with a great deal of knowledge were the designers and originators and that it was all created several thousand years before the Nazca or Paracas cultures existed.

In some places there are irregularly shaped white surfaces or patches. At one time these were an important part of the tracings. They are not dug out like the rest of the designs, but are on the same level as the dark surface. Figure No. 29 shows some of these inexplicable white areas in the upper right of the photograph taken by the Peruvian Air Force on October 9, 1947, in the vicinity of the Rio del Ingenio. The black band in the upper right is the Pan-American Highway which cuts through a great rectangle in the top of the photograph. The irregular white lines are car tracks.

Figure No. 30 is a detailed map of the region which shows on the photograph in Figure No. 29 (1 inch= 250 yards). This will give you a better idea of the terrifically complicated delineated surfaces and lines. This map was drawn by the mathematician, Maria Reiche, who gave permission to reproduce it here. (The dotted line is the Pan-American Highway.)

The theory currently popular is that the designs were connected with very ancient magical ceremonies and a calendar system and that the tracings had an astronomical use. I believe that this is true in part, but by no means offers a complete explanation. Commenting on this theory, Maria Reiche says:

The existence of lines which divide the year in two halves by mark ing the 21^st of June and the 21^st of December is not sufficient proof for the astronomical meaning of the tracings. There are too many different directions, many of these, although very close to solstice directions, are outside the course of the sun. They could find their explanation in certain extreme rising and setting points of planets. Likewise, the great variety of other directions could be interpreted as representing the rising or setting of certain heavenly bodies. To decide which these were and in what centuries they rose and set over the tracings, would be very difficult because of the great number of different possibilities of such an interpretation.

Dr. Paul Kosok, Professor of History at Long Island University, saw the sun setting exactly over a narrow line, on June 22^nd, the solstice date. This led him to believe that this particular line was traced for the special purpose of marking this date. Therefore, he suspected other lines were made for the purpose of fixing exact dates of the year. He believes the tracings form a gigantic calendar and says that `a reliable calendar was a vital necessity for an agricultural people like the ancient Nazca, whose economy was based on irrigation from rivers which carry water only during certain months of the year. One can think of no better reason to justify the immense effort put in the tracing of these designs, whose complicated pattern would reveal the enormous difficulties overcome by these primitive people in making a calendar.'

 

Astronomers object to an observation made today that is applied to ancient times, since the sun's setting point was then at an angle equivalent to at least one-eighth of the sun's diameter further north. However, Dr. Kosok has contributed greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the `Lines of Nazca'. Undoubtedly, the astronomical meaning is part of the answer.

Would all of this prodigious amount of work covering a period lasting many centuries have been accomplished merely because primitive people were interested in astrology (including the development of a solar calendar and the determining of the solstices)? Would the Nazca people have gone to all that trouble just to see the sun set or rise over narrow lines? Can their abundance or lack of water for irrigation purposes explain the patterns adequately? Can religious ceremonies alone explain the mystery? I believe all of these answers are true to an extent, but behind the 'mystery on the desert' is something far more ancient and far more important than the whims of Nazca agriculturists, priests or astrologers.

One of the great unanswered questions about Nazca is : Why were the patterns made so immense? This would not be necessary just to view or mark extreme rising and setting points of heavenly bodies. We may find one answer to this in an ancient legend which says:

`We must make our creations great upon the land that the sky gods may view them.'

What is the real meaning behind this statement? Is it just the fact that the ancient people made such gigantic patterns merely to let the `sky gods' know the Nazca were watching for the time when the water should be coming to them so that their crops would be well irrigated? Was this to be a reminder to the `sky dwellers' so that they wouldn't neglect their 'Earth children'?

I still don't believe these people would have gone to all that work just for the 'sky gods'. They could have attracted the attention of these `gods' by elaborate rituals and ceremonials and through fasting and prayer. Cultural groups throughout the world who performed ceremonies for needed rain did not construct such immense patterns but made supplications to the `sky gods' through complicated rituals, etc.

The Hopi Indians of Arizona in the United States have need for great amounts of rain every year for their crops for they live in an arid region of the American Southwest. This is a problem for the Hopis of today as it has been for centuries in the same area. However, the Hopis never turn the surface of the surrounding desert into an immense drawing-board. The reason for this is because these Indians have a totally different concept of 'rain gods' and how to attract their attention. We will be discussing this later.

I believe the statement from the legend is much more ancient than the Nazca people. It must have originally meant, literally, exactly what it says. In other words, there were actually `sky gods' and somehow they were connected with the necessity for constructing the mystery lines. After this occurrence, the later cultures interpreted the `sky gods' as those 'dwellers in the heavens' who would or who would not give them water when they needed it for irrigation. The real meaning was lost in antiquity, and the legend took on new meaning with the later people who inhabited the same area. These later people, including the Nazca, actually constructed some designs on the desert themselves, but they are completely different from the earlier delineated surfaces and perfect lines. For the most part the Nazca creations are birds, spiders, fish and a few human forms. The later designs are all figures that need only to be viewed from an altitude of a few feet to take on meaning and be completely visible. This altitude can be anywhere from about five feet above the ground on up to four or five hundred feet. The animal figures cannot be distinguished from high altitudes of several thousand feet. Many of these are several hundred feet in length, but Maria Reiche studied them by using a twelve foot and a six foot ladder. Also, a five foot stool was used because it 'was firmer than the ladder and could withstand a strong wind'. Later, the mathematician used a helicopter of the Peruvian Air Force to view and photograph the animal figures. She is, indeed, an amazing woman-she climbs outside of the helicopter while it is in the air to take the pictures herself. One cannot help but admire her stamina and dedication to the study of the `Lines of Nazca'.

Let us now go back in time, starting with our modern era. We know present-day engineers didn't construct the designs (absurd thought) since there is no record of it, and besides, our highways have been placed over the older lines and figures.

We know the Spanish conquerors didn't make our `Lines of Nazca' for they walked over them and there isn't even one word to be found in their chronicles that would indicate they ever saw the designs. Besides, they didn't come to Peru to construct animal and geometric forms on the sandy desert.

The Incas could not possibly have been the builders since they placed their roads over the immense patterns also, and their legends do not speak of them at all.

Now we come to the first place in history in our `looking backwards' view where we find a people who knew something about the `mystery on the desert'. These people were the Nazca. They not only inherited the land from their ancestors but they also inherited many legends that had been built up on ancient traditional evidence. They came into the land peacefully and they were the first people to learn of the existence of the most ancient delineated surfaces. The Incas, remember, came as invaders and conquerors, so did the Spanish, and a conqueror never learns the real secrets of a land, he is only able to capture the outward, visible wealth. In fact, usually, the conqueror remains in the new land to finally become the 'conquered'.

The Nazca retained knowledge of astrology and astronomy from generations of priests who had received the arcane secrets from their forefathers. This ancient knowledge came originally from one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. In the interior of South America there existed thousands upon thousands of years ago an empire called `Land of the Jaguar (Tiger) King', known in the old chronicles as 'Paititi'. After the destruction of this Empire by catastrophe, the remnant of her people traveled over the great Andes Mountains of the west and entered into the desert areas of the Peruvian coast. The Nazca people were the descendants of a part of this remnant that had been saved in the very early days. Therefore they were the guardians of the ancient knowledge.

They knew about the delineated surfaces that were there when they arrived in the area, but they could not possibly duplicate them. However, they knew that somehow the lines had originally served some astronomical and directional purpose because of the legends that had been passed down to them. One of these, already referred to, spoke of the `sky gods' and that the people made their `creations great upon the land' so that these 'gods' could easily see them from their vantage point in the heavens. The Nazca could not possibly know what the real meaning behind this legend, and others, was. The 'sky gods' to them became simply `rain gods' because their economy demanded it. The `sky gods' of a greater antiquity were those divinities who would supply them with water when they needed it provided the people attracted their attention with sacrifices and adoration.

Of course, the Nazca never viewed the gigantic designs from the air, but they could see a small fraction of them by tracing them for long distances on the ground. How did these primitive people know the lines were there when the later Incas and Spanish were ignorant of the fact? This is not a contradiction, for, as already mentioned, the Nazca had the traditional evidence that had come with their ancestors on their journey over the Andes. Those ancestors had carried the secret knowledge with them and they knew they were traveling to the area of the `great creations upon the land'. They decided beforehand on this and were headed for this area-to them it was a pilgrimage. The Incas and Spanish on the other hand never came looking for `great creations upon the land' unless it was creations of gold and silver and conquest. The motive was entirely different. If you come into a new land with a blessing that land blesses you in return by revealing its secrets to you. But if you come with a curse and intend to subdue the land, the doors of revelation are closed to you, and you never find the real treasure, only the golden baubles on the surface that are the playthings of would-be conquerors.

The ancient legend to the Nazca became a Divine Ordinance, a commandment from the ancestors they revered, and they, too, had to create the `great creations upon the land'. We have already discussed how a true happening of the dim past will later take on new ramifications (Apollo, Osiris and Mercury-Thoth became `gods'). So, the `sky gods' to the Nazca were `rain gods'. These people lived in an area where sowing and planting time started abruptly and unannounced some time in November or December. From one day to the other the water came and filled the wide riverbeds of the Peruvian coast, which during previous months had been absolutely dry or containing only a tiny stream. The waiting for the water must have reached a state of fear, for if it didn't arrive in time, the year would advance to the point where they could no longer plant and harvest their crops. To overcome this uncertainty, the Nazca decided to follow the commandment of the ancient tradition. They must also build `great creations on the land' so the `sky or rain gods' could see them and know that the Nazca needed water. It was to be a reminder to those who dwelt in the 'heavens'.

As stated above, the Nazca could not duplicate the ancient perfectly straight lines going in all directions, so they transferred from their pottery, the figures of birds, monkeys, and spiders, and placed them on the ground. The great delineated surfaces or pathways are always on level ground (sometimes extending on over small artificial or natural hills, however), but the animal figures, etc., are traced on slopes. Maria Reiche has noticed that later generations in the area of the designs made frequent changes, for some designs overlap others and therefore must have been built later. Miss Reiche also says: '... if one could find a higher point of observation, one would be able to see how they (lines of the figures) continue...' For that purpose she used the ladders. Now, the Nazca could also have observed the construction of their animal figures from specially built stone and adobe platforms which could have been removed later. Mounds of heaped up stones have been found in connection with the designs which may have been related to these points of observation made by the Nazca people. However, these people never were able to get to an altitude of three, four or even ten thousand feet. They couldn't possibly have built a 'Tower of Babel' to observe the older creations.

Pottery fragments are found everywhere on the ground near the tracings, but 'their designs show a great variety in style' which indicates they belong to many different periods. A stone was found containing a typical Nazca pottery motif, a snake head and a small trophy head. The painted pottery of these people has the same motifs as the gigantic animal figures traced on the ground; therefore, there is no question who made them, but what of the delineated surfaces the Nazca could never properly see?

The Nazca constructions are few and were `copies' of the older work in that they apparently (to the Nazca) served the same purpose. They were not literal copies of the lines, etc., for the Nazca creations were entirely different in form, etc.

Therefore, we must go back in time to see what or who preceded the Nazca, to get at the real cause of the mystery. When we study the Nazca people and their accomplishments we only are arriving at effect, for they represent the effect of something out of the dim past that necessitated the building of the lines and surfaces originally. Their attempts and beliefs were a degeneration of a more highly evolved science and understanding that was known to their predecessors.

Who the `predecessors' were we do not know, but that they existed there is no question. As already mentioned, the earlier race constructed only delineated surfaces and astronomically perfect lines; they never made crude animal forms. Also, their creations had to be viewed from a very high altitude, no 'stools' or 'ladders' or `mounds of earth and stone' would reach the necessary height. Also their designs were always placed on level ground whereas the Nazca forms were generally placed on slopes where they could be viewed by the people more easily on a higher elevation. As Maria Reiche says: `... standing before such a slope or on an opposite elevation, one can sometimes distinguish the figures on it clearly...'

The delineated surfaces are usually central features around which all other forms are grouped. This is so because the Nazca built around the older tracings they had found on the ground while observing a small fraction of their total area.

Now if the later Nazca `rain gods' actually were real beings who came to Earth in the past, and were called in the legends 'sky gods', then who were they? This is a much more important question than who were the designers and builders of the lines, for it answers the great question of the entire mystery: Why were the immense patterns made?

Did the strange surfaces and lines serve as markers or beacons for something arriving from outer space since they must be observed from high in the air, and only then take on visibility and meaning? Was the great labor expended to place signal stations on the coast of South America? If so, for what purpose? Warning? Guidance? Indicators? Many questions are raised here that demand answers.

Tracings are found in other parts of the coastal region. They are not as well preserved as those around Nazca and Palpa because of the peculiar geographic location and the climatic conditions present in the latter area. Ten miles north of Lima and over three hundred miles north of the Nazca area patterns have been found. Reports have come from Chile that similar designs are there. In the Casma valley of Peru not far from the carved stones of the six-fingered dancers (see Fig. No. z4), there are more immense patterns. Facing the Bay of Paracas (the area of the riddle of the mummies), Peru, etched into a sandhill on the cliffs of the bay is the monstrous symbol called 'Tres Cruces'. It is over six hundred feet high and is unquestionably a`Tree of Life' symbol. It faces the sea and directly north-south. It was made by four feet of sand being scooped out of the ground. Almost nothing is known of the people who buried their dead in the caverns of Paracas. There are no remains to be found of their cities or dwellings where their rich fabric was woven. They lived temporarily on the Bay of Paracas while they prepared their dead for internment in the stone crypts. Is the `Tree of Life' symbol etched in the sand related to them? Could it possibly have been a guide or beacon to those who came from some unknown land in the sea and stopped only long enough to bury their dead? This is another of the great mysteries of the Peruvian southern desert.

We have already discussed the figures visible from the air on the Marcahuasi Plateau in Peru. In the United States designs are found that are more like the Nazca animal forms than the delineated surfaces and lines. In Ohio the 'mounds' or patterns were made of low, compact walls of earth. This was necessary since the designs were subjected to a more rigorous climate than is found in Peru. In the American Southwest many other designs have been found recently, in fact, such signals or beacons for the 'sky gods' are found all over the planet Earth and there is reference to them in countless legends. The true happening was later distorted and became an integral part of ancient theological beliefs and the 'sky gods' were added to the enormous pantheon of the ancients. The figures and lines are well preserved in Peru in the area of Nazca-Palpa because of the geographical-climatic situation there.

Another startling discovery, that very definitely has a connection with our 'Lines of Nazca', was made only recently by the men flying in the B-52's of the United States Air Force. These men were at very high altitudes over the area of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh in Egypt. Suddenly they noticed on the ground, which surrounded the Great Pyramid itself, many perfectly straight lines extending out into the desert, and going in every direction. These lines were never observed by the travelers passing by the Great Pyramid for centuries, nor were they seen by low-flying aircraft, but the B-52 flies very high, and because of this the tracings were observed for the first time. Did I hear someone say `The plot thickens?' Indeed it does, indeed it does!

In Case No. 24 of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Arqueologia (National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology) in Magdalena Vieja, Lima, Peru, there are two pottery pieces from the Mochica culture of Peru. These Pre-Inca objects represent men with wings on their backs. They are ingeniously strapped on, with the straps clearly held by the left hand of each figure. The straps go from the wings and cross in front of each man. Evidently the ancient Mochica people of the northern part of Peru had legends that spoke of the time when men flew in the skies above. And because of this they immortalized the happening by depicting it in a stylized form in ceramics. It also reminds us of the tale from Greek mythology where Icarus and his father escaped the Cretan labyrinth by means of wings made from feathers. Icarus flew too near the sun, the wax of his wings melted, and he was drowned in the sea. What do Mochica pottery figures have to do with Icarus and his escape from the labyrinth? There is mystery upon mystery in this strange land that all of her conquerors, Inca and Spanish alike, were never able to unravel.

Figure No. 31 is of the area about two miles north of Palpa. The photograph of the flat-topped long ridge between the Rio Grande (to the right) and the Rio Palpa (to the left) was taken by the Peruvian Air Force on January 4, 1945, at an altitude of 3,000 feet. In the background is the Pan-American Highway winding up the ridge and down again. (Looking south-east.)

We mentioned before the overlapping of different designs which seem to be the result of corrections or additions which have taken place at a later period. In the centre of the photograph in Figure No. 31, two delineated surfaces can be seen completely overlapping or crossing each other. There is also another important example of `overlapping'. This is seen in the foreground of the photograph, where exist ancient stone ruins, clearly visible on the flat topped ridge. If you will look closely you will see where the ancient city was built directly over the immense lines and surfaces. Here is absolute proof of the great antiquity of the patterns or `Lines of Nazca'.

If you will look even more closely you will see yet another example of 'overlapping' that may turn out to be the answer to the entire mystery, and then again, it may be nothing at all. Whatever it turns out to be don't let the `experts' tell you it's nothing but a large grasshopper resting on the ridge!

When I was going through hundreds of photographs in the archives of the Peruvian Air Ministry, I came across this photograph. My eye was immediately caught by the extensive ruins, then I noticed that they had been constructed over the great surfaces. As I traced the largest surface out from the ancient city towards the centre of the photograph, my glance came to rest on something very strange and out of place at the very end of, and centered in the middle of, the great surfaced area. This `strange something' was much whiter than anything else around it, and stood out clearly against the darker surface of the prehistoric pattern. What was it?

At first I thought it must have been caused during the developing process of the film. If this were so it would not appear on other photographs taken at different times. I quickly turned to the next picture (see Fig. No. 32). Here I found the same white design again which almost appeared to be glowing! That meant it had been no accident in the dark room which had caused the appearance of this 'something'. If it were present in two different photographs taken at different times this would seem to indicate that the 'something' was stationary on the ground. I called to one of the Air Force Captains who was standing by and asked him if he could identify the glow on the ridge. At first, he said it looked very much like the targets that are made on the ground for bombing practice. I handed him a large magnifying glass that was on the table in front of us. He studied the `something' for a long time. I could see a slight frown developing on his face. Then, very solemnly, he said :

'I thought it might be a bomb target, but it just simply can't be--under magnification it doesn't look like it at all.'

`What do you think it is, Captain?' I said.

'Frankly, sir, I don't know. I wish I did. I have never seen anything like it before.'

If it wasn't a target, then what kind of a stationary object would look like that, I thought, and what would it be doing out on that ridge in such a desolate place, a place of forgotten ruins and still older and forgotten lines? Yet, it must be stationary or a permanent part of the ridge if two different photographs taken at different times indicate it. Then I had an idea. I looked in the records to see when the two photographs had been taken by the Peruvian Air Force. Both were taken in the same place over an area about two miles north of Palpa at 3,000 feet altitude and both were taken the same day, January 4, 1945. Here was my first real clue. Both photographs were taken on the same day in the same area at the same altitude and only a few moments apart! This meant the 'something' may not have been connected with the ridge at all, but may have been an 'object' of some kind that had landed there. The thought is all the more intriguing when you notice that the 'object' is apparently 'glowing' and contains an outer bright ring with a dense shining centre. Under magnification it is even apparently casting a shadow on the ground beneath it. This could mean that it is hovering there.

What kind of a 'hovering object' would be centered in the middle of an ancient delineated surface that looked like some kind of a fantastic airfield, and actually perched at the very end of this field as though it were ready to 'take off' like some weirdly-shaped aircraft? Could it possibly be a modern visitation of the `sky gods' who need the 'creations great upon the Earth'? Actually, it may be nothing at all, we can't be sure.

However, we are sure of one thing, and that is that there were 'sky gods' who came to Earth in the dim past. But why did they come and what was the necessity of immense astronomically perfect lines all over the world? These 'gods' or heavenly messengers must have been in communication with some highly advanced civilizations on Earth : perhaps these people assisted the `gods' in the building of the lines and surfaces, or perhaps the 'gods' were only the master architects and the Earth races did the actual building. But what purpose did these patterns serve?

There must be a connection between the discoveries of Prof. Cattoi in Italy, the mysteries of Marcahuasi and the 'Lines of Nazca' in Peru. Remember, Cattoi found areas where there was a great concentration underground of electro-magnetic energy and he discovered gigantic stone figures in the same areas plus the fact that there is a high frequency of UFO sightings in the same places. At Marcahuasi there are the same great monoliths plus the humming sound which also may indicate great underground concentrations of electro-magnetic energy. At Nazca there are the fabulous lines and delineated surfaces that were made 'great up on the land' so the 'sky gods could view them'. Cattoi has successfully photographed a UFO directly over the carving of an enormous stone head! What are the UFOs doing in these areas?

Actually, visitors from space may be doing many things when they visit ancient sites of former civilizations which were the former areas of previous visitation on their part in the forgotten past of our planet Earth.

It is possible that these magnetic centers can be used by the UFOs as 're-fuelling' stations. Space craft do not use 'fuel' as we think of it, but many of the smaller craft never were designed to go through interstellar space. They are carried to the Earth in the interior of a great 'Mother Ship" and are released over our planet in their work as 'Scout Ships'. Many of these smaller craft must replenish their magnetic (light) drive by drawing on the magnetic field of the Earth itself. Naturally they would look for, and find, the areas of greatest magnetic concentration from which to do their 're-fuelling'.

However, these areas of magnetic energy can be natural or they can be artificial. In Other Tongues-Other Flesh [See pages 67-71 inclusive] we discussed the possibility of a new science--the science of cultural magnetism. In part, we said:

... where meteorites fall there is great civilization or highly civilized peoples .. this is because meteorites are attracted to the anomalies (magnetic anomalies found in various parts of the world), and the anomalies are amplifiers of Universal Knowledge constantly permeating all space as the 'music of the spheres'. Great cultural centers are found over and near such anomalies. The individuals living in such areas are receivers of this Universal Knowledge and it manifests itself in great works of art, music, literature, scientific achievement, architecture, philosophy, etc. Depending on what vibration an individual is operating in, he will create in one of these fields.

A study of the major fault lines of Earth also shows that culture follows these lines because magnetic anomalies are found along them as well as volcanoes. Trace the fault lines of Earth and see where they cross areas of great cultural advancement...

... the anomaly acts as a Universal radio because it amplifies everything coming in from outer space. Highly sensitive individuals have strange experiences when they enter an anomaly area. Their ability at reception is increased to a fantastic degree...

All of the above discussion in Other Tongues-Other Flesh was concerned with natural areas of magnetic concentration (vortical action). If we study the major fault lines of Earth we find one goes right through the centre of Italy and another one goes through the entire length of Peru. Therefore, we could explain UFOs showing up over magnetic concentration centers in these two countries from the standpoint of natural magnetic areas. Also, we know that great cultural advancement has taken place in the past in the Italian area, and this is also true of Peru in the area of the mystery lines and figures. We find the finest weavings in the world at Paracas, and we find beautifully wrought ceramics at Nazca. Again this proves our contention that the development of culture and the effects of magnetism are somehow related.

However, there is one point that may indicate some of the magnetic 're-fuelling' stations of the UFOs or space ships are artificial. This is the fact that UFOs show up so frequently over the gigantic monoliths in all parts of the world. Why are these stone carvings found over areas of magnetic concentration? The appearance of UFOs over natural magnetic areas is understandable from the 're-fuelling' standpoint, but why are the great stone figures nearly always present also? In the case of the `Lines of Nazca' there are no giant statues, but there are thousands of directional lines.

It is entirely possible that the areas where we find the great carvings constitute centers where underground are located the still intact cities of the 'El's'. The UFOs could 're-fuel' or draw energy from the ancient 'El' laboratories and complicated magnetic devices. Is that why Cattoi saw a space ship over the great stone head? Is that why the granite images of Marcahuasi emit an odd humming sound?

Maria Reiche says:

... an analysis might lead to the result that the tracings (of Nazca-Palpa) could not have been astronomical at all, although it is difficult to imagine how their existence could be explained otherwise.'

Their existence might be explained by the fact that visitors from interstellar space, coming to our planet millennia ago, traveling the road in the sky of innumerable yesterdays, needed signal stations in all parts of the world. These served as directional markers to point the way to either natural or artificial areas of magnetic energy for the 're-fuelling' of their reconnaissance ships.

The `mystery' of the 'Lines of Nazca' is that they were beacons for the `gods'.