Mysterious Nazca Lines (Free Spanish Lessons for Kids)
Did you know that in the middle of Peru’s desert some massive pictures in the sand exist, known as the Nazca Lines?
And that when archeologists discovered the Nazca lines, many people believed that they were designed by aliens?
Nowadays, scientists agree that aliens had nothing to do with the creation of the mysterious Nazca lines, as we now know that the Nazca people created them thousands of years ago.
But the mystery remains—no one can figure out how the Nazca people made them or what their meaning is!
Keep reading to discover more about the Nazca lines, their endless mystery, and theories on how they were made. What’s more, learn new Spanish vocabulary related to the Nazca lines, and enjoy a few fun and awesome activities to learn more about these mysterious designs!
Explore more FREE SPANISH LESSONS FOR KIDS! ➡️
Enjoy over 70 unique lessons + free activity packets to download.
What Are the Mysterious Nazca Lines?
In the desert near Nazca, Peru, there are a series of geoglyphs so big that they can only be fully appreciated from the sky.
According to Kiddle (a super cool online encyclopedia for kids), a geoglyph is “a large design or motif produced on the ground and typically formed by clastic rocks (not to confuse with classic rock!) or similarly durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, live trees, gravel or earth.”
The Nazca lines are a mystery for researchers who after 80 years of studying them still can’t understand why these geoglyphs are there, what their function is, or why they were created in the first place.
Interesting Questions About the Nazca Lines
These are some of the questions that scientists are still trying to confirm about the Nazca lines:
1. How Old Are the Nazca Lines?
No one knows their exact age, but they’re at least 2,000 years old!
2. How Many Nazca Lines Are There?
There are over 800 straight lines drawn in the desert, plus more than 300 geometric designs such as triangles, trapezoids, spirals, and arrows.
The best-known Nazca lines are about 70 representations of plants, animals, and humans. Examples of these images include a hummingbird, a spider, and a human-like figure that’s been called “the astronaut.”
3. How Were the Nazca Lines Made?
The geoglyphs of Nazca were made by removing rocks and dirt from the ground to create a specific design. But exactly how the Nazca people did this on such a large scale is a mystery.
On this point, scientists haven’t made their minds yet and different theories abound. The renowned archaeologist Maria Reiche thinks that the Nazca people used wooden stakes attached by a rope and set the stakes as a guide in a straight line. If you want to know more about how the Nazca lines were made, Machu Travel Peru has an interesting infographic explaining this process.
Spanish Nazca Vocabulary Activities
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Explore more FREE SPANISH LESSONS FOR KIDS! ➡️
Enjoy over 70 unique lessons + free activity packets to download.
Now it’s time to learn some Spanish vocabulary about the Nazca lines. You have to discover these new Spanish words in the following series of cool games and activities for you to learn them while having fun!
Sopa Nazca de Letras (Nazca Word Search)
In Spanish, even a simple word search has a cool name: sopa de letras or “letter soup”! Look for the following Spanish words about the mysterious Nazca lines.
- línea – line
- espiral – spiral
- figura – figure
- colibrí – hummingbird
- araña – spider
- astronauta – astronaut
- trapezoide – trapezoid
- geoglifo – geoglyph
- roca – rock
- piedra – stone
- suelo – ground
- misterio – mystery
- teorías – theories
- imágenes – images
- desierto – desert
- mapa – map
Scrambled Nazca Letters
Those were some really cool words! Now, let’s learn a few more Spanish terms related to the Nazca lines, but in the form of scrambled letters.
- arqueólogo – archaeologist
- coordenadas – coordinates
- científico – scientist
- flecha – arrow
- ballena – whale
- mono – monkey
- llama (pronounced ya-mah) – llama
- pato – duck
- flor – flower
- gigante – giant
- diseño – design
- cielo – sky
- astronomía – astronomy
- solsticio – solstice
- Sudamérica – South America
Nazca Lines Crossword
Let’s bump up the difficulty level! In this crossword puzzle, you’ll mix your Spanish skills with your scientific knowledge. You get a set of 10 definitions in English and you have to find the correspondent word in Spanish.
All Spanish words can be found in the word bank. Good luck!
Word Bank
- línea – line
- espiral – spiral
- figura – figure
- colibrí – hummingbird
- araña – spider
- astronauta – astronaut
- trapezoide – trapezoid
- geoglifo – geoglyph
- roca – rock
- piedra – stone
- suelo – ground
- misterio – mystery
- teorías – theories
- imágenes – images
- desierto – desert
- mapa – map
- arqueólogo – archaeologist
- coordenadas – coordinates
- científico – scientist
- flecha – arrow
- ballena – whale
- mono – monkey
- llama (pronounced ya-mah) – llama
- pato – duck
- flor – flower
- gigante – giant
- diseño – design
- cielo – sky
- astronomía – astronomy
- solsticio – solstice
- Sudamérica – South America
Nazca Lines Crafts
How about doing some super cool Nazca lines crafts? Follow these simple ideas, and imagine that you’re in the desert of Peru 2,000 years ago, doing your own Nazca designs.
Design Your Own Nazca Lines!
Download this Nazca lines worksheet to create your own Nazca lines design. You can add your design to an actual Nazca lines map, the size (in meters or kilometers) of your own shape or figure, and even the exact coordinates where you want your design to be located (visit this cool site to play with geographic coordinates).
Nazca Chalk Lines
Once you have created your own Nazca design, go out and draw it with chalk on the sidewalk outside your house. Try to make it as big as possible to resemble the real ones in Peru. You can print several Nazca lines Spanish worksheets and invite your neighbors to make their own Nazca lines designs and decorate the sidewalk of your neighborhood!
Tell Your Friends About the Nazca Lines in Spanish!
If you did the Nazca chalk lines with your neighbors, you’ve already started this. Just make sure to share with them the new Spanish words you just learned. As the Nazca lines are located in Peru, a Spanish-speaking country, your friends will be impressed with your deep knowledge about them in English and Spanish!
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