专四晨读美文：Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries
Over the past several decades,
the U.S., Canada, and Europe
have received a great deal of media
and even research attention
over unusual phenomena and unsolved mysteries.
These include UFOs as well as sightings
and encounters with "nonhuman creatures"
such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster.
Only recently has Latin America
begun to receive some attention as well.
Although the mysteries of
the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations
have been known for centuries,
now the public is also becoming aware
of unusual, paranormal phenomena in countries such as Peru.
The Nazca "lines" of Peru were discovered in the 1930s.
These lines are deeply carved into a flat, stony plain,
and form about 300 intricate pictures of animals
such as birds, a monkey, and a lizard.
Seen at ground level, the designs are a jumbled senseless mess.
The images are so large that they can only be viewed
at a height of 1,000 feet—meaning from an aircraft.
Yet there were no aircraft in 300 B.C.,
when it is judged the designs were made.
Nor were there then, or are there now,
any nearby mountain ranges from which to view them.
So how and why did the native people of Nazca
create these marvelous designs?
One answer appeared in 1969,
when the German researcher and writer Erich von Daniken
proposed that the lines were drawn by extraterrestrials
as runways for their aircraft.
The scientific community did not take long
to scoff at and abandon von Daniken's theory.
Over the years several other theories have been put forth,
but none has been accepted by the scientific community.
Today there is a new and heightened interest in the Nazca lines.
It is a direct result of the creation of the Internet.
Currently there are over 60 sites
dedicated to this mystery from Latin America's past,
and even respected scientists have joined the discussion
through e-mail and chat rooms.
Will the Internet help explain these unsolved mysteries?
Perhaps it is a step in the right direction.