Archaeologists discover 2,000-year-old giant cat geoglyph amid Peru's Nazca Lines

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Global News)

last updated 20 October 2020

Archaeologists trying to improve access to an overlook onto Peru's ancient Nazca Lines, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1994, discovered a 120-foot-long geoglyph of a cat on the side of a hill, Peru's culture ministry announced this week.

"The figure was scarcely visible and was about to disappear because it's situated on quite a steep slope that's prone to the effects of natural erosion," the culture ministry said. "Over the past week, the geoglyph was cleaned and conserved, and shows a feline figure in profile, with its head facing the front." The cat drawing was estimated to have been created between 200 and 100 B.C., during the late Paracas era and before the time of the Nazca culture.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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