A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignment of materials on the ground in a manner akin to petroforms, while a negative geoglyph is formed by removing part of the natural ground surface to create differently coloured or textured ground in a manner akin to petroglyphs.
Geoglyphs on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest
Geoglyphs are generally a type of land art, and sometimes rock art. A hill figure is created on a slope, so that it can be seen from a distance.
Perhaps the most famous geoglyphs are the Nazca lines in Peru. The cultural significance of these geoglyphs for their creators remains unclear, despite many hypotheses.[1]
The Nazca Lines in Peru. This photograph shows a depiction of a hummingbird
Since the 1970s, numerous geoglyphs have been discovered on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, leading to claims about Pre-Columbian civilizations.[2][3][4] Ondemar Dias is accredited with first discovering the geoglyphs in 1977 and Alceu Ranzi with furthering their discovery after flying over Acre.[5][6]
The "Works of the Old Men" in Arabia, "stone-built structures that are far more numerous than (the) Nazca Lines, far more extensive in the area that they cover, and far older,"[7] have been described as geoglyphs by Amelia Sparavigna, a physics professor at Politecnico di Torino in Italy.[8] The use of this term to describe these features is probably inaccurate, as recent research has shown that most were not constructed primarily as art, but were rather built to serve a range of purposes including burial sites and funerary customs, aiding in the trapping of migratory animals, and as cleared areas for camps, houses and animal enclosures.[9]
ContemporaryEdit
Bunjil geoglyph at the You Yangs, Lara, Australia, by Andrew Rogers. The creature has a wingspan of 100 metres and 1,500 tonnes of rock were used to construct it.
Not all geoglyphs are ancient. The Land Art movement created many new geoglyphs as well as other structures; perhaps the most famous example is Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson. Many towns and cities in the Western United States use hillside letters (also known as "mountain monograms") on the hills above their locations. Contemporary Australian sculptorAndrew Rogers has created geoglyphs around the world called "The Rhythms of Life". You Yangs Regional Park is the home of a geoglyph constructed by Rogers in recognition of the indigenous people of the area. It depicts Bunjil, a mythical creature in the culture of the local WautharongAboriginal people.[citation needed]
In 2008–2009 Alfie Dennen created Britglyph, a locative art-focused geoglyph created by having participants across the United Kingdom leave rocks at highly specific locations and uploading media created at each location. When taken together and viewed on the main project website an image of a watch and chain inspired by John Harrison's marine chronometer H5 was created.[10]
People have used the Strava mobile app to create Strava art, virtual geoglyphs.
^New Technologies for Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Investigations in Palpa and Nasca, Peru, Natural science in archaeology, page 50, Markus Reindel, Günther A. Wagner, Springer Verlag, 2009. ISBN978-3-540-87437-9
^Simon Romero (January 14, 2012). "Once Hidden by Forest, Carvings in Land Attest to Amazon's Lost World". The New York Times.
^Martti Pärssinen, Denise Schaan and Alceu Ranzi (2009). "Pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in the upper Purús: a complex society in western Amazonia". Antiquity. 83 (322): 1084–1095. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00099373. S2CID 55741813.
^Junior, Gonçalo (October 2008). . Pesquisa (Ed.220). FAPESP. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12.
^Professor David Kennedy, quoted by Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor. "Visible Only From Above, Mystifying 'Nazca Lines' Discovered in Mideast", NBC News (via LiveScience), 9/15/2011
^Amelia Sparavigna, quoted by Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor. "Visible Only From Above, Mystifying 'Nazca Lines' Discovered in Mideast", NBC News (via LiveScience), 9/15/2011
^Kennedy, David (2011). "The "Works of the Old Men" in Arabia: remote sensing in interior Arabia". Journal of Archaeological Science. 38 (12): 3185–3203. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.05.027.
^Dennen, Alfie (2009-03-11). . Moblog. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^"The geoglyphs of Har Karkom (Negev, Israel): classification and interpretation" (PDF). ccsp.it. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
Further readingEdit
Tiffany May (19 Oct 2020). "2,000-Year-Old Cat Etching Found at Nazca Lines Site in Peru". The New York Times.
Kennedy, David (2011). "The "Works of the Old Men" in Arabia: remote sensing in interior Arabia". Journal of Archaeological Science. 38 (12): 3185–3203. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.05.027.
External linksEdit
Look up geoglyph in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The Blythe Intaglios, A Photo Gallery
October 20, 2023
geoglyph, racehorse, horse, geoglyph, large, design, motif, generally, longer, than, metres, produced, ground, durable, elements, landscape, such, stones, stone, fragments, gravel, earth, positive, geoglyph, formed, arrangement, alignment, materials, ground, m. For the racehorse see Geoglyph horse A geoglyph is a large design or motif generally longer than 4 metres produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape such as stones stone fragments gravel or earth A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignment of materials on the ground in a manner akin to petroforms while a negative geoglyph is formed by removing part of the natural ground surface to create differently coloured or textured ground in a manner akin to petroglyphs Geoglyphs on deforested land in the Amazon rainforestGeoglyphs are generally a type of land art and sometimes rock art A hill figure is created on a slope so that it can be seen from a distance Contents 1 Ancient 1 1 Possible geoglyphs 2 Contemporary 3 Geoglyphs in the world 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksAncient Edit nbsp The prehistoric English hill figure of the Uffington White HorsePerhaps the most famous geoglyphs are the Nazca lines in Peru The cultural significance of these geoglyphs for their creators remains unclear despite many hypotheses 1 nbsp The Nazca Lines in Peru This photograph shows a depiction of a hummingbirdSince the 1970s numerous geoglyphs have been discovered on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest Brazil leading to claims about Pre Columbian civilizations 2 3 4 Ondemar Dias is accredited with first discovering the geoglyphs in 1977 and Alceu Ranzi with furthering their discovery after flying over Acre 5 6 Other areas with geoglyphs include Megaliths in the Urals South Australia Marree Man which is not ancient but rather a modern work of art with mysterious origins Western Australia and parts of the Great Basin Desert in the southwestern United States Hill figures turf mazes and the stone lined labyrinths of Scandinavia Iceland Lappland and the former Soviet Union are types of geoglyphs The south of England has a number of equine and human figures cut into chalk hillsides Examples include the Uffington White Horse Cerne Abbas Giant Westbury White Horse and the Long Man of Wilmington Some are ancient others from the last few centuries Possible geoglyphs Edit The Works of the Old Men in Arabia stone built structures that are far more numerous than the Nazca Lines far more extensive in the area that they cover and far older 7 have been described as geoglyphs by Amelia Sparavigna a physics professor at Politecnico di Torino in Italy 8 The use of this term to describe these features is probably inaccurate as recent research has shown that most were not constructed primarily as art but were rather built to serve a range of purposes including burial sites and funerary customs aiding in the trapping of migratory animals and as cleared areas for camps houses and animal enclosures 9 Contemporary Edit nbsp Bunjil geoglyph at the You Yangs Lara Australia by Andrew Rogers The creature has a wingspan of 100 metres and 1 500 tonnes of rock were used to construct it Not all geoglyphs are ancient The Land Art movement created many new geoglyphs as well as other structures perhaps the most famous example is Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson Many towns and cities in the Western United States use hillside letters also known as mountain monograms on the hills above their locations Contemporary Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers has created geoglyphs around the world called The Rhythms of Life You Yangs Regional Park is the home of a geoglyph constructed by Rogers in recognition of the indigenous people of the area It depicts Bunjil a mythical creature in the culture of the local Wautharong Aboriginal people citation needed nbsp Portrait of Genghis Khan painted onto cleared areas of Mt Bogd Khan in Mongolia in 2006 Geoglyphic texts and images are common in Central and Inner Asia but there has been little systematic study of their origins and spread More recent figures in the south of England created since the early 1800s have kept up the region s ancient tradition of chalk hillside figures Examples of these are the Litlington White Horse Devizes White Horse Fovant Badges Cherhill White Horse and the Marlborough White Horse nbsp The Litlington White Horse in the village of Litlington South West EnglandIn 2008 2009 Alfie Dennen created Britglyph a locative art focused geoglyph created by having participants across the United Kingdom leave rocks at highly specific locations and uploading media created at each location When taken together and viewed on the main project website an image of a watch and chain inspired by John Harrison s marine chronometer H5 was created 10 People have used the Strava mobile app to create Strava art virtual geoglyphs Geoglyphs in the world EditCountry Geoglyph nbsp Israel Geoglyphs of Har Karkom 11 nbsp England Uffington White HorseWestbury White HorseCerne Abbas GiantLong Man of WilmingtonPewsey White HorseLitlington White Horse nbsp United States Gila River ValleyGreat Serpent MoundBlythe Intaglios nbsp Peru Nazca LinesParacas Candelabra nbsp Brazil Acre Geoglyphs nbsp Chile Atacama Giant nbsp Bolivia Sajama Lines nbsp Australia Marree ManReadymix logo geoglyphBunjil Geoglyph nbsp India Great Indian Desert Lines also known as the Boha geoglyphs Rajasthan nbsp Russia Russian geoglyph in the Ural MountainsSee also EditPetroglyph Petrosomatoglyph Intaglio burial mound Battalion ParkReferences Edit New Technologies for Archaeology Multidisciplinary Investigations in Palpa and Nasca Peru Natural science in archaeology page 50 Markus Reindel Gunther A Wagner Springer Verlag 2009 ISBN 978 3 540 87437 9 Simon Romero January 14 2012 Once Hidden by Forest Carvings in Land Attest to Amazon s Lost World The New York Times Amazon Jungle geoglyphs in Portuguese Martti Parssinen Denise Schaan and Alceu Ranzi 2009 Pre Columbian geometric earthworks in the upper Purus a complex society in western Amazonia Antiquity 83 322 1084 1095 doi 10 1017 s0003598x00099373 S2CID 55741813 Junior Goncalo October 2008 Amazonia lost and found Pesquisa Ed 220 FAPESP Archived from the original on 2014 08 12 Unnatural Histories Amazon BBC Four Professor David Kennedy quoted by Owen Jarus LiveScience Contributor Visible Only From Above Mystifying Nazca Lines Discovered in Mideast NBC News via LiveScience 9 15 2011 Amelia Sparavigna quoted by Owen Jarus LiveScience Contributor Visible Only From Above Mystifying Nazca Lines Discovered in Mideast NBC News via LiveScience 9 15 2011 Kennedy David 2011 The Works of the Old Men in Arabia remote sensing in interior Arabia Journal of Archaeological Science 38 12 3185 3203 doi 10 1016 j jas 2011 05 027 Dennen Alfie 2009 03 11 Britglyph Moblog Archived from the original on 2008 12 18 Retrieved 2009 03 17 The geoglyphs of Har Karkom Negev Israel classification and interpretation PDF ccsp it Retrieved 30 July 2018 Further reading EditTiffany May 19 Oct 2020 2 000 Year Old Cat Etching Found at Nazca Lines Site in Peru The New York Times Kennedy David 2011 The Works of the Old Men in Arabia remote sensing in interior Arabia Journal of Archaeological Science 38 12 3185 3203 doi 10 1016 j jas 2011 05 027 External links Edit nbsp Look up geoglyph in Wiktionary the free dictionary The Blythe Intaglios A Photo Gallery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Geoglyph amp oldid 1172015877, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
