The Nazca Desert Turkey/Vulture Figure

ByClifford C. Richey

June 2009

Illustration 2: Male Frigate Bird

Illustration 1: The Frigate Bird Figure

The Bird Imagery appears to be one of the male Frigate Bird that have an inflatable red pouch on their neck. They are also sometimes called “Man of War” birds1 or Pirate birds as they apparently force other birds to give up their catch. What the Nazca may have called these birds is not known but it may have been some similar association.

The Overall Form of this figure is one of a Large Tumi Knife meaning a great warrior.

1 "man-o'-war bird." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 25 Jun. 2009

Illustration 3: Form: A Large Tumi Knife,

The Great Warrior

Next we have the overall Imagery of a Bird (flight). The Wing (green shades) that contains the signs for place (rectangle -light green), on-the-side (dark green). The “T” shape, Stance, is on its side), and the long-journey, Leg and Foot (brown). Next we come to imagery of a Hand (flesh) meaning the steward.

The Hand is making the sign for turning-female. There is imagery of Three Fingers (light blue) pointing sideways meaning, the many-on-the side. (three is shorthand for many). This means, the many male spirits turning upwards (Stance, fingers Bending upwards).

The Great Knife,The Great WarriorThe Frigate Bird, ?

His Flight

The Great PlaceThe Place

ofThe Journey

of The Hand, The Steward

Turning Female

The Many

Illustration 4 Color Coded Sections

Male-SpiritsTurning-Upwards

Next we have a Curved Finger (flesh) near the Neck pointing out a direction, Here. We see two signs for wood (green). Normally this sign would have straight edges but here they are wavy as if in motion or growing. These signs appear to be small plants growing or sprouting. Next to these plants is the sign for heart, kernel, or seed (red). Thus a kernel or seed sprouting. The Head of the Bird (Blue), the sign for flight, is an Egg shaped sign representing the unborn or about to be born. This statement is probably a reference to the spirits preparing for their re-birth by arriving at the surface and, like a seed sprouting, about to rise upward toward the sky. The Bird's Eye (white) is the sign for a all or everything on the surface.

The Bird's Beak (yellow) , a Mouth, is the sign for a water source such as a spring. The Beak is a compound of three signs, a Rectangular place sign, a Curved ascending sign, and a Finger meaning the one.

HereThe Egg, The Unborn

allOn The Surface

The Mouth, The Water Source

The Sproutingof

The Heart, The SeedThe Place

ofThe One

Ascending.Here is the total message:

The Great Knife,The Great Warrior

His Flight

The Great PlaceThe Place

On The Side(of the earth)

The Journeyof

The Hand, The StewardTurning Female

The ManyMale-Spirits

Turning-Upwards

HereThe Egg, The Unborn

itsLocation-Surface

The Mouth, The Water Source

The Sproutingof

The Heart, The SeedThe Place

ofThe One

Ascending.

It is interesting that The beak of the Bird has a curved line drawn from it to a larger line angled off in the distance. There is another line from the Tail of the Bird that curves to form a “U” turning sign and then connects to another line and its angle would seem to intersect with the line mentioned above at some distance ahead of the Bird. The area of this intersection may be important to further understanding the meaning of the desert lines. One suspects, because of the message content of the glyph, that the intersection of the lines might be a place where there was a well, spring or other source of ground moisture from which the spirits could launch their flight to the sky. Another possibility is that the intersection of the lines might point toward a star that rises on the horizon here. The star would most likely be Venus as we have seen that this star was the one most closely related to deceased Warriors.