In order to test the hypothesis that historical advances in technology were caused by the introduction of new tools and techniques by extraterrestrials I would review the site, artifacts and historical contexts of each in relation to the area in which they were found. In this specific case, I have chosen to take a deductive approach to analyze the Nazca Lines as featured in Ancient Aliens.
Analyzing the Lines broadly, it does appear that they were designed to be viewed from an aerial perspective. Looking at the design and layout of the lines it can be deduced that they were constructed in order to convey some form of message. The message could be attributed to a form of physical communication, perhaps in reference to some form of sky borne deity, however this does not mean extraterrestrial. In order to test this possibility the lines must be examined closely to look for evidence of advanced technology that would be far beyond the means of society at the time, such as mechanical excavators.
Another possibility would be that the lines held a more spiritual meaning. Perhaps the line were meant to be walked in order to convey a sense of spiritual tranquility. This would be more difficult to test as footprints are often disrupted by environmental conditions.
Moving to a deeper perspective, the construction of the lines would have to be considered. At first glance, both the scale and the design of the lines appears to be extremely advanced for the tools available at the time. The scale alone could possibly lead to the concept that some advance being must have helped in its construction. In modern times we can view the entirety of the earth work from the air, and without considering other possibilities it would be rather easy to use this as justification for the idea that a similar approach was used during the sites development. This concept can be challenged another theory that the Lines were designed in sections and completed in pieces in order to construct the image that can be seen today. This process is rather simplistic and is still used today for large scale depictions.
The Nazca Lines are one of the more well known archaeological sites and have an unfortunate reputation as being one of the pieces of “evidence” used to support the idea that extraterrestrial organism assisted in the development of human society in the ancient past. This “hypothesis” can be easily refuted by viewing the site using deductive reasoning in order to link historical context to the physical artifacts left behind.
I really appreciate the way you broke down the analysis of The Nazca Lines in your post. I especially like the part where you brought up the fact that the lines could have been made by sectioning off parts and then doing it bit by bit. Which is a tried and true practice as you said that is still used today. Another thing about the lines I always find frustrating is the argument that just because they are supposedly to be viewed from above, it automatically means they were made for aliens. There are plenty of reasons that actually make sense for them to be viewed from above, as you also noted. They could have been drawn to be seen from the heights around them or even as a religious or spiritual practice. I thought it was very thought provoking for you to include many possible, and plausible, reasons for the existence of The Nazca Lines. I think a lot of ancient astronaut believers use the argument “scientists don’t know, therefore it could be aliens” which is complete nonsense. With that logic one could argue there’s a magical land of gnomes at the bottom of the ocean because we don’t know, there could be. When really, there’s never been any actual evidence of ocean dwelling gnomes or ancient astronaut aliens visiting the earth. If all of these more reasonable and simple explanations can’t be disproven, then the impossible can’t just be assumed as the truth. Anyway, thank you for sharing your post, I really loved reading it.