German mathematician Maria Reiche (1903-98), known for her pioneering work into Peru's ancient Nazca Lines, was born in Dresden 115 years ago today.
Honoured in today's Google Doodle, Reiche became obsessed with solving one of Latin America's greatest mysteries: why did the land's ancient people carve giant bird and animal geoglyphs into the desert plains?
She had first arrived in Peru in 1932 after completing her studies, having accepted a job as governess to the children of the German consul in Cuzco.
She quickly became enraptured by the country - despite losing a finger to gangrene after being pricked by a cactus - visiting the Andes and the high plains of southern Peru before relocating to Lima in 1934.
Here she worked as teacher of German and befriended American ex-pat Amy Meredith, who would become her partner and who ran a fashionable local coffee shop where she first encountered New York academic Paul Kosok.
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It was Kosok who introduced her to the strange line drawings of creatures in the sands of Nazca, 248 miles from the capital. First discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe a decade earlier, Kosok had photographed them from the air and realised their true form.
Reiche was transfixed by his account and, after visiting the 140 square mile site, committed herself to their study as Kosok's side, describing the landscape as "a huge blackboard where giant hands have drawn clear and precise geometric designs".
Spending many nights camping in the desert, Maria became an object of curiosity herself: "The locals either thought I was a spy or completely mad. Once a drunk threatened me with a stone, so I took out my sextant and pointed it at him. He ran off screaming, and the next day the local papers ran the story of a mad and armed German spy in their midst."
Reiche and Kosok's study of the Nazca Lines in the 1940s led to the dramatic conclusion that the beasts were actually roughly equivalent to the signs of the zodiac and that they together comprised an early astronomical calendar, mapping out the celestial bodies in the heavens.
The geoglyph of a monkey is seen on the plains of the Nazca desert in southern Peru (Reuters)
Her book The Mystery of the Pampas (1949) detailed the theory that the giant monkey geoglyph was the Nazca interpretation of the Great Bear constellation, whose movement across the night sky was used to mark time and predict the onset of the rainy season. Her work debunked a myth popularised by Swiss conspiracy theorist Erich von Daniken that they were made by extraterrestrials.
Although Reiche's conclusion has now been largely sidelined in favour of the idea that the geoglyphs served a more earth-bound ceremonial purpose, she nevertheless played a vital role in preserving them, sweeping the lines, preventing vehicles from driving over them and ensuring they received Unesco protected status in 1994.
"The Lady of the Lines" spent her days living in a Nazca tourist hotel, was granted Peruvian citizenship in 1992 and published her complete scientific findings Contributions to Geometry and Astronomy in Ancient Peru in 1993 at the age of 90. She died of ovarian cancer in June 1998, a beloved figure in her adopted homeland.
Fly high over the Peruvian desert and you will see giant drawings on the ground. Some of them are straight lines, some are spirals and rectangles and trapezoids, and some are animals: whales, ducks, hummingbirds. Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the 115th birthday of Maria Reiche, a German mathematician who became known as the “Lady of the Lines,” the scientist known for studying these so-called Nazca Lines.
Reiche was emigrated to Peru in 1932 to be a governess for children of the German consulate there. Soon after, she learned about the giant line drawings in the desert, built by the ancient Nazcan people, and dedicated the rest of her life to studying them. (Because of the dry desert’s stable climate, the lines were well-preserved.) Over the next half-century, Reiche helped the Peruvian government map the lines, measuring over 1,000 of them. She discovered that some of them were marked for the summer solstice, proposing that the lines were some sort of astronomical calendar.
And she was dedicated to preserving them, too, fighting the government when it wanted to dig canals across them. “I used to live on a flat roof or sleep out in a tent in the desert,” she recalled. “The locals either thought I was a spy or completely mad. Once a drunk threatened me with a stone, so I took out my sextant and pointed it at him. He ran off screaming, and the next day the local papers ran the story of a mad and armed German spy in their midst.”
We still don’t fully understand the Nazca lines or know for sure what they mean, but today they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Reiche became a Peruvian citizen in 1992, and died in 1998.
Maria Reiche, the German mathematician renowned for her investigative work into the Nazca Lines, has been honoured in the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018.
Also known as the ‘Lady of the Lines’, Maria was obsessed with solving the mystery of Peru’s archaeological site and her work is being celebrated on what would have been her 115th birthday.
She was also devoted to the preservation and protection of the Nazca Lines and shielded the figures from people and vehicles with just a household broom. But who was Maria Reiche?
Who was Maria Reiche?
Born May 15, 1903 in Dresden, Germany, Maria Reiche went on to study mathematics at Dresden Technical University and from 1932, worked as a nanny and teacher in a German consul based in Cusco, Peru.
Maria enjoyed her time in the country, even though she lost a finger to gangrene after accidentally stabbing herself with a cactus.
In 1939, she became a teacher in Lima and during World War II, she remained in Peru and later met Amy Meredith, an American expat who became her partner.
During this time, she was introduced to the Nazca Lines when flying over the desert and after being struck by their wonder, became an assistant to American historian Paul Kosok from New York.
This picture shows the Panamerican Highway cutting through the geometric shapes of the Nazca Lines near Nazca in southern Peru
After visiting the 140 square mile site, Maria became transfixed by the landscape and described it as ‘a huge blackboard where giant hands have drawn clear and precise geometric designs’.
Maria began camping in the desert and became an object of curiosity: ‘The locals either thought I was a spy or completely mad. Once a drunk threatened me with a stone, so I took out my sextant and pointed it at him.
‘He ran off screaming, and the next day the local papers ran the story of a mad and armed German spy in their midst.’
Reiche and Kosok studied the Nazca Lines throughout the 1940s and found that the lines mapped out the signs of the zodiac and roughly marked an early astronomical calendar.
In 1949, Maria published a book, The Mystery of the Pampas, in which she discussed her theory that the giant money geoglyph was the Nazca interpretation of the Great Bear constellation and that its movement was used to determine time and predict rain.
This photograph shows what archaeologists have dubbed The Royal Family and are thought to represent figures that were of a water cult
Dedicated to her work, Maria measured almost 1000 lines and discovered that the Nazca Lines were markers for the summer solstice and with the help of the Peruvian Air Force, discovered that they also represented 18 different kinds of animals and birds.
Her book debunked the theory popularised by Swiss conspiracist Erich von Daniken that they were made by aliens.
Maria, who had found that the Nazca Lines served a ceremonial purpose, attempted to preserve them and prevented vehicles from driving over them until UNESCO offered protected status.
Maria spent her final days living in a hotel, was granted Peruvian citizenship in 1992 and published her complete findings, Contributions to Geometry and Astronomy in Ancient Peru, a year later. She died of ovarian cancer in June 8, 1998.
Illustrated by Guille Comin, the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018 celebrates Maria Reiche on what would have been her 115th birthday and portrays her as a lone woman sitting on a ladder with a sextant, compass and broom
What are the Nazca lines?
The Nazca Lines are geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru and the largest reach up to 370m long.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, many believe that they were created by the Nazca culture between 500 BC and 500 AD.
The designs were made by removing the natural red pebbles in the ground and uncovering the white ground underneath to create a pattern.
Maria Reiche Google Doodle
Illustrated by Guille Comin, the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018 celebrates Maria Reiche on what would have been her 115th birthday and portrays her as a lone woman sitting on a ladder with a sextant, compass and broom.
Maria Reiche, the German mathematician renowned for her investigative work into the Nazca Lines, has been honoured in the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018
Google Doodles mark events around the world with illustrations on the Google homepage and is incorporated into the Google logo.
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin marked their visit to the 1998 Burning Man Festival with the first ever Doodle.
Now, team of illustrators, designers, animators and artists work on the Google Doodles and the logos are hyperlinked to a page that provides more information about the cultural event celebrated.
Recent Google Doodles include Chantal Akerman, Mrinalini Sarabhai and US Teacher Appreciation Week.
