Steppe Geoglyphs facts for kids
The Steppe Geoglyphs are ancient earth shapes found in northern Kazakhstan. They were built a very long time ago by people living in the Neolithic period. These amazing shapes are found in an area called the Turgay Trough.
There are at least 260 of these earthworks. Many of them are smaller shapes like mounds, trenches, and raised areas. These smaller parts are put together to make bigger, more complex designs. The main shapes include squares, circles, and other unique patterns. These large designs can be from about 90 meters (around 300 feet) long to over 400 meters (around 1,300 feet) across!
Most of these geoglyphs were made by digging earth out and piling it up. But some were also made by carefully placing stones next to each other to form the shapes.
Some of the biggest and most interesting shapes have special names. These include the Bestamskoe Ring, the Ushtogaysky Square, the Turgay triradial swastika, and the Large cross Ashtasti. Other names are the Ekedyn cross, Ashutasti ring, Kyzyloba line, Koga cross, and Shili square.
How Old Are They?
Scientists used a special method called optical dating to figure out how old these structures are. This method looks at how long ago dirt or stones were last exposed to light. The results show that the Steppe Geoglyphs were built between 1,000 and 8,000 years ago. That's a very long time!
How Were They Found?
The Steppe Geoglyphs were discovered in 2007 by a person named Dimitriy Dey. He found them while he was looking at Google Earth maps. He was actually searching for pyramids or similar ancient buildings in Kazakhstan. The discovery was first shared with other scientists in 2014.
Protecting the Geoglyphs
Sadly, one of these ancient structures was damaged in 2013. This happened during road construction. It's important to protect these historical sites so people can learn about them for many years to come.
See also
In Spanish: Geoglifos de la estepa para niños
