Why did ancient man create geoglyphs?

Question

I was wondering what your thoughts were on them, not the conspiracy theory's.

Answer 1

Burial mounds.
Aesthetic amusement.
Alien landing strips, if you're a wacko.
For religious purposes.

It's brutally obvious once you think about it.

Answer 2

We don't really know. Some, like the Nazca Lines, are probably for religious reasons. Others possibly for marking the territory of a tribe or a group or a local ruler. Even the newer ones are sometimes still a mystery.

"However, there is less existing evidence concerning why the figures were built, so the Nazca people's motivation remains the lines' most persistent mystery. Many scholars believe that their motivation was religious, making images that only gods in the sky could see clearly. In 1985 the archaeologist Johan Reinhard published archaeological, ethnographic, and historical data demonstrating that worship of mountains and other water sources played a dominant role in Nazca religion and economy from ancient to recent times. He presented the theory that the lines and figures can be explained as part of religious practices involving the worship of deities associated with the availability of water and thus the fertility of crops. The lines were interpreted as being primarily used as sacred paths leading to places from which these deities could be worshiped and the figures as symbolically representing animals and objects meant to invoke their aid. However, the precise meanings of many of the individual geoglyphs remain unsolved."

"Nazcar Lines : Theories" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines

"The reasons for the creation for the figures are varied and obscure. The Uffington Horse probably held religious significance whereas the Cerne Abbas giant might well have been a work of political satire."

"Hill Figure" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_figure

"There has been speculation that the figure is a parody of Oliver Cromwell, who was sometimes mockingly referred to as "England's Hercules" by his enemies; the Hercules connection is strengthened by the recent discovery of an obliterated line perhaps representing an animal skin (see below). A local legend says that a real giant was killed on the hill and that the people from Cerne Abbas drew round the figure and marked him out on the hillside."

"Cerne Abbas giant" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerne_Abbas_Giant

"The horse is thought to represent a tribal symbol perhaps connected with the builders of Uffington Castle. A more modern theory suggests that the stylised horse figure acted as a sign to people passing on The Ridgeway advertising horses being sold or catered for at the hillfort. It is quite similar to horses depicted on pre-Roman British coinage and the Marlborough bucket. For centuries, however, local people have maintained that it is a portrait of the dragon slain by Saint George on the nearby Dragon Hill."

"Uffington White Horse" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffington_White_Horse

"Possible creators"
"- American servicemen of the U.S. Army based at the Australian Space Research Institute at Woomera, possibly to leave a lasting memento of their time in Australia. The base was scheduled to close down by the end of the 20th Century.
Australian servicemen, although the Australian Defence Force reported that their personnel were no closer than 200 kilometres to the figure during the time it was created. A unit of three vehicles, one of them carrying a bulldozer were spotted by a couple travelling along the Oodnadatta Track on June 1st.[6]
- Workers from the Olympic Dam mine at Roxby Downs (approximately 60 km north of Woomera). These workers would have access to the heavy earthmoving equipment required to create a geoglyph with such precision.
- Bardius Goldberg, a Northern Territory artist who lived at Alice Springs, who has been said to have been given $10,000 at the time of the Marree Man's discovery. [7]
- Land artist Christopher Headley from Melbourne, who is possibly the only person in Australia who does land art, although usually much smaller.
- Robin Cooke, a sculptor who has built a large sculpture park at Alberrie Creek, 30 km west of Marree. [8]
- Locals of Marree, for the benefit of tourism"

"Marree Man" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marree_Man