AI isn't just finding ancient art; it's reshaping archaeology itself

How many secrets can a desert hold, even one as thoroughly studied as Peru's Nazca Pampa? For decades, the enigmatic Nazca Lines were understood to be a collection of some 430 massive geoglyphs, visible from above, sparking endless theories about their purpose. But in a breathtaking surge of discovery, artificial intelligence has helped archaeologists nearly double that known number, fundamentally altering our perception of these ancient artworks and, perhaps more significantly, the very process of archaeological exploration itself.

The collaboration between Yamagata University’s Nazca Institute and IBM Research has been nothing short of transformative. What took nearly a century of human effort to identify approximately 430 figurative geoglyphs, an AI system accomplished for 303 new figures in just six months, as reported in September 2024 by The Guardian. By July 2025, a further 248 figures were announced, bringing the confirmed figurative total to around 893, with 781 of these attributed to AI and aerial image analysis, according to The Art Newspaper. This isn't just an incremental improvement; it's a paradigm shift in the speed and scale of discovery.

Beyond the Numbers: A New Glimpse into Ancient Life

The sheer quantity of new discoveries is impressive, but it’s the nature of these geoglyphs that truly reshapes our understanding of the Nazca people. For years, the iconic hummingbird, monkey, and spider figures, stretching hundreds of feet across the desert, dominated our imagination. They were seen as creations meant for deities, or perhaps astronomical markers. However, the AI-assisted surveys have primarily unearthed smaller, relief-type figures, many just a few meters across, depicting parrots, cats, monkeys, killer whales, and even scenes of human sacrifice or everyday life. These date back to around 200 BC, predating many of the more famous, larger designs. As archaeologist Johny Isla, Peru’s chief archaeologist for the Nazca Lines, noted, these smaller figures were so subtle that traditional flyovers simply missed them. They were, in his view, made by humans, for humans, serving as signs or representing kinship groups along walking paths, a stark contrast to the monumental figures intended for the gods.

This distinction reveals a much richer, multi-layered cultural landscape than previously imagined. The Nazca Pampa now appears to have functioned at two scales simultaneously: intimate roadside markers for daily interactions and monumental figures for grand ceremonial approaches.