LIMA, PERU- There was a mystery in Peru which had troubled the scientists for years. But now, with the help of high-resolution satellite images of this Peruvian mystery, they have managed to find an answer.
This mystery revolves around Peru’s famous Nazca region. There is a series of cautiously built spiraling holes called Puquios, which are dug into the ground in the Nazca Desert of southern Peru.
Archeologists were unable to date these mystery puquios using traditional carbon dating techniques Nazca people did not leave any clue for why they were first established.
Now, Rosa Lasaponara from the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis in Italy managed to find answer by studying imagery shot from space to observe the pattern of puquios and how they were related to nearby settlements, which were easier to date.
It is believed that the basic purpose of these tunnels and caves was to enable communities to survive the drought which persistently hit the area. They were basically a cutting edge hydraulic system meant for retrieving water from aquifers underground.
“What is clearly evident today is that the puquio system must have been much more developed than it appears today,” says Lasaponara. “Exploiting an inexhaustible water supply throughout the year the puquio system contributed to an intensive agriculture of the valleys in one of the most arid places in the world.”
Lasaponara suggests that ‘specialized technology’ must have been used to build the puquios. “What is really impressive is the great efforts, organization and cooperation required for their construction and regular maintenance,” she says. “Maintenance was likely based on a collaborative and socially organized system.”
