Newly discovered Nazca Lines have been hiding in desert for thousands of years

Most of these mysterious geoglyphs were created by the Nazca people, who lived in the area from 200 to 700 CE. But the researchers believe that some of the newfound ones were created even earlier - by the Paracas and Topará people, who lived there around 500 BCE to 200 CE.

The lines have been a source of fascination and wonder for decades. Created by pushing aside the top layer of red desert pebbles to reveal the pale layer underneath, these geoglyphs span vast tracts of the Nazca Desert, between the towns of Nazca and Palpa.

Some of them form geometric shapes, some are simple lines, and some are combined into elaborate depictions of animals and objects.

The most wondrous thing about these ancient symbols is that you often can't see what they depict from ground level. You have to get up in the air to discern the patterns, which is why their full glory wasn't understood until after the invention of airplanes.

The earlier Paracas glyphs, on the other hand, were often laid down on hillsides, which means that, from the right perspective, they can be seen by people on the ground. They also often depicted humans, in contrast to the more geometric Nazca shapes.

Most of the newly discovered Paracas figures depict warriors, and they predate the Nazca lines by centuries. You can see their glory in this video from National Geographic: