Which ancient civilization created the Nazca Lines in Peru's coastal desert?

The Nazca culture created the Nazca Lines in Peru's coastal desert. The geoglyphs include enormous animals, plants, geometric shapes and long straight lines made by removing dark surface stones to expose lighter ground.

Most of the figures were created between about 200 BCE and 600 CE, during the period associated with the Nazca culture. The designs are spread across the arid plains near Nazca and Palpa, where exceptionally low rainfall has helped preserve them for centuries. Their full purpose remains uncertain.

Researchers have proposed links with ritual processions, water and fertility ceremonies, astronomy or sacred landscapes, but no single explanation is universally accepted. The Nazca Lines were not made by the Inca, who rose to power much later. They were added to an area with earlier and later geoglyphs, showing that the landscape had long-term cultural importance.