Dotting the desert landscape of southern Peru are mysterious circles, some half a football field across. Now, researchers have found that these strange dirt markings were probably made by on-the-go travelers passing along the area’s footpaths long ago.
The circular geoglyphs are positioned along these old transport routes, researchers reported today (Oct. 24) in the journal Antiquity. The marks may have been made over many centuries, from as early as A.D. 200 to as late as A.D. 1400.
“People are doing these geoglyphs ‘on the road’ in both senses of the term,” said study co-author Justin Jennings, the curator of New World archaeology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “They’re in the midst of travel, and they’re doing this work, and of course, when you’re in the midst of travel, you’re doing it at a pit stop,” he added, explaining the close link between geoglyphs and roadways. Read more.
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