YAMAGATA -- A group of Yamagata University researchers have discovered 143 new geoglyphs on and around the Nazca plateau in Peru, known for its Nazca Lines UNESCO World Heritage site, including a drawing discovered with the help of AI technology.
The research group, led by Prof. Masato Sakai, deputy director of the university's Nasca Research Institute, has previously discovered many other geoglyphs.
They formulated a hypothesis that geoglyphs were concentrated along roads in the western part of the plateau.
When the researchers conducted field research from 2016 to 2018, they confirmed a large number of ground drawings, by methods such as using drones that can fly lower than airplanes.
The lines depict people and animals, such as monkeys and birds, with the largest image measuring more than 100 meters long. One of the drawings looks like a two-headed snake trying to eat two humanoid figures.
In a joint feasibility study with IBM Japan that started at the end of 2018, the team analyzed aerial photographs using AI technology.
The AI presented several possible candidates for biomorphic geoglyphs. After conducting a field survey, they confirmed the existence of a drawing that depicts a humanoid figure holding something like a stick.
"[The discovery] increased the possibility of creating an overall distribution map [of the Nazca images] using AI technology," Sakai said.
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