Many geoglyph sites can be found in Chile's Atacama Desert, so far around 5,000 geoglyphs have been documented and there are no doubt more waiting to be discovered in the barren desert wilderness. There are 3 main types, geometric, zoomorphic (animal) and anthropomorphic (human) figures. The majority are thought to have been made between 800-1400AD by several civilisations. Their exact purpose is not fully understood, it seems likely that many were built either for ceremonial or ritual purposes, or to provide information for travellers on ancient trade routes between the highlands and coastal lowlands.
