This paper deals with geoglyphs from Palpa and Nasca (Southern Peru) in a spatial and social context. In one of the first phases, the Paracas Period, geoglyphs were predominately situated on slopes, and their repertoire of motifs (mainly anthropomorphic beings) was taken from other media. These depictions must have been constructed in connection with activities that took place at a certain distance and that cannot be fully ascertained. In the subsequent Nasca Period the populace went on to construct enormous geoglyphs in the form of lines or other geometric patterns on the desert-like plains between river valleys. These geoglyphs henceforth came
to serve as stages for numerous ritual activities (as shown by offering deposits). These rites were presumably connected with the increasing aridisation of the climate and with prayers for water and fertility. The important thing here was no longer so much the picture, the geoglyph, but rather the activities performed upon them, activities in which other media now came to assume the role of image bearer.