Theories of Purpose

Beyond water rituals, the leading ideas fall into a few camps. Some scholars read the lines as astronomical markers aligned with the sun and stars, though statistical studies find no more alignments than chance would predict. Others argue the figures were meant for the sky gods, drawn at a scale only the heavens could fully see. A third view treats them as a giant ceremonial space that bound the community together. No single theory has won, and that open question is much of the appeal.