It is believed a people now labeled the ‘Nazca culture’ is responsible for most of the lines put in place between around 100 BC and 700 AD although earlier Chavin and Paracas cultures are also candidates.
The cat figure is believed to have been made from depressions in the floor of the rocky desert exposing the earth beneath.
Speaking to the media after the discovery, Peru’s culture ministry said: “The figure was scarcely visible and was about to disappear, because it’s situated on quite a steep slope that’s prone to the effects of natural erosion.”
Johny Isla, Peru’s chief archaeologist for the region, meanwhile, said he believes the cat figure is older than the Nazca culture, possibly from the Paracas era, circa 500 BC to 200 AD.
“We know that from comparing iconographies,” Isla said to local media. “Paracas textiles, for example, show birds, cats and people that are easily comparable to these geoglyphs.”
