The Paracas Candelabra, also called the Candelabra of the Andes, is a well-known prehistoric

geoglyph 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 alignmen ...

found on the northern face of the

Paracas Peninsula The Paracas Peninsula is a desert peninsula within the boundaries of the Paracas National Reserve, a marine reserve that extends south along the coast of Peru. The only marine reserve in the country, it is a designated UNESCO The United Nat ...

at Pisco Bay in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Pottery found nearby has been radio carbon dated to 200

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

, the time of the

Paracas culture The Paracas culture was an Andean society existing between approximately 800 BCE and 100 BCE, with an extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management and that made significant contributions in the textile arts. It was located in what tod ...

. The design is cut into the soil, with stones possibly from a later date placed around it. The figure is tall, large enough to be seen at sea. A variety of popular myths have arisen about the geoglyph.

History

A variety of popular myths have arisen about the geoglyph: one attributes it to

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and cent ...

, a 19th-century leader in the fight for independence; another suggests it is a

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

symbol; and yet another that sailors created it as a sign which they could view at sea for landfall. Some believe it represents the motif known as a

Mesoamerican world tree World trees are a prevalent motif occurring in the mythical cosmologies, creation accounts, and iconographies of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In the Mesoamerican context, world trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which al ...

. Although the exact age of the Candelabra geoglyph is unknown, archaeologists have found pottery around the site dating to around 200 BCE. This pottery likely belonged to the Paracas people. It is not known if they constructed the geoglyph. The purpose of the Candelabra's creation is also unknown. It is thought most likely to represent the trident, a lightning rod of the god

Viracocha Viracocha is the great creator deity in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. Full name and some spelling alternatives are Wiracocha, Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra, and Con-Tici (also spelled Kon-Tiki, the source of the ...

. He was long an important figure in indigenous mythology throughout South America, both before and during the time of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

. It has also been suggested that the Candelabra was built as a sign to sailors, as it is visible from far at sea. It may be a symbolic representation of the hallucinogenic plant called

Jimsonweed ''Datura stramonium'', known by the common names thorn apple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), devil's snare, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a species belonging to the ''Datura'' genus a ...

References

External links

* http://www.kmatthews.org.uk/cult_archaeology/out_of_place_artefacts_13.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Paracas Candelabra Geoglyphs Archaeological sites in Ica Region Archaeological sites in Peru Hill figures Tourist attractions in Ica Region

History

See also

References

External links