Figure 18.14

Nazca geoglyphs. This aerial photograph shows a monkey (about 100 m, or 330 ft, across) carved into a reg in southern Peru. About two dozen strange figures and odd geometric shapes and patterns were etched into the Peruvian desert floor by the now-vanished Nazca civilization about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. Although there are many hypotheses about these works, their purpose is not fully understood.

(Aaron Oberlander/Flickr RF/Getty Images)