'This book is a tour de force. . . . [It] makes a good and important contribution to public knowledge of the Nasca Lines.' —Katharina J. Schreiber, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara 'A rigorous researcher and lucid writer, Aveni leaves his reader-enthusiasts with a multidimensional mystery in which astronomy, religion, and the effective use of fragile terrain all play important roles.' — Foreword The Nasca Lines are one of the world's great enigmas. Who etched the more than 1,000 animal, human, and geometric figures that cover 400 square miles of barren pampa in southern Peru? How did the makers create lifelike images of monkeys, birds, and spiders without an aerial vantage point from which to view these giant figures that stretch across thousands of square yards? Most puzzling of all, why did the ancient Nasca lay out these lines and images in the desert? These are the questions that pioneering archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni seeks
