Kazakhstan Steppe Geoglyphs

NASA began investigating a series of massive geoglyphs in Kazakhstan in 2015. They also told the astronauts on board the International Space Station to take photos of the area. The oldest glyphs date back approximately 8,000 years and vary in size and design. Some seem as enormous circles made up of smaller circles, while others are as massive as an aircraft carrier or large enough to contain multiple aircraft carriers.

Archaeologists have been compelled to reevaluate when humans got the ability to organize massive, complex enterprises like this. One of the mysteries surrounding the Neolithic markings is that many of them would have needed the Stone Age people who made them to dwell in the area far longer than archaeologists believe.

These shapes are squares, rings, and three others. The composite figures range from slightly under 90 m in length to over 400 m in diameter. Besides being made of earth dug out and piled up, some of the geoglyphs are made by placing stones next to each other. Some of the large shapes have been given names, including Bestamskoe Ring, Ushtogaysky (or Ushtogay) Square, Turgay triradial swastika, Large cross Ashtasti, Ekedyn cross, Ashutasti ring, Kyzyloba line, Koga cross, and Shili square.

Date: 2015
Location: the Turgai Trough area of Turgai in northern Kazakhstan