Location: La Paz Department Map
Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku is an ancient archaeological city,
capital of the State of Tiahuanacota, located 21 kilometers
southeast of Lake Titicaca in the department of La Paz in
western Bolivia.
Tiahuanaco was the center of the
Tiahuanaco civilization, a pre-Inca culture that based its
economy on agriculture, livestock and architecture, and which
covered the territories of the Collao plateau, between western
Bolivia, southwestern Peru, northern Argentina and the north of
Chile, regions from which it radiated its technological and
religious influence towards other civilizations contemporary to
it.
The city of Tiahuanaco is characterized by its
architecture decorated with reliefs and incised plans placed on
stelae; It is made up of seven important architectural
constructions: Kalasasaya, semi-subterranean temple, Akapana
pyramid, Puerta del Sol, Puma Punku and temple, also great
pyramids and sculptures.
Material testimony of an
important pre-Inca culture, the Tiahuanaco culture had a port on
Lake Titicaca, although it is now 15 km away from it. The
magnificence of its culture is expressed in its excellent
ceramic work, with the famous queros (ceremonial vessels), the
huaco-portraits (relief portrait of a human face on a vessel),
as well as textiles and especially in architectural
constructions. , many of which involve astronomical orientation.
This city reached its construction between the years 400 AD
and collapsed around the year 900 or 1200 AD.
It is
currently the venue for one of the most important ceremonies of
the Aymara New Year, where official acts are also held, attended
by the president, state vice president and other authorities.
Background
Tiahuanaco is considered to be one of the
longest-lived cultures in South America, lasting 25 centuries from 1500
B.C. C. until the year 1000 d. C. The pre-Hispanic city of Tiahuanaco
was the capital of an Andean state that included the territory named as
the Altiplano Plateau. This culture is characterized by having known
bronze, which gave it a great technological and military advantage over
the other cultures of America at that time; Proof of this is that bronze
joints have been found in its constructions, utensils and weapons.
The capital of this empire is Tiahuanaco; It is located 70
kilometers northwest of the city of La Paz, by road, and at an altitude
of 3,885 meters above sea level. 15 km from Lake Titicaca. According to
Alan L. Kolata, an American archaeologist who conducted successive
excavations at this site during the 1980s and early 1990s, around the
year 1000, the city had a population of 115,000, along with another
250,000 in the surrounding countryside. For many, these figures are very
high; it is said that it is more likely that the city at its height
reached a population of twenty or thirty thousand people. This culture
extended its physical domains to approximately 600,000 km².
The
construction characteristics of the capital are unique and splendid,
converging in it, planning architects, who with a singular drawing of
simple lines designed lavish temples; the engineers calculated the
slopes of the walls, and with an excellent urban planning technique they
created surface and underground networks of canals to eliminate
rainwater and sewage.
The stonemasons cut stones with excellent
craftsmanship; the metallurgists made plates for the iconographic
bas-reliefs, managing to cover the portals of monuments with golden
metals, which sparkled in the sun. The sages oriented the temples
astronomically with amazing precision. Crowds of men cut the stone in
distant quarries and then transported it to the big city.
Tiahuanaco radiates culture, there the knowledge and mastery of science
is concentrated and the fine arts are loved and protected. The influence
of Tiahuanaco can be seen in monuments in southern Peru and northern
Chile. The stamp of this culture is also found in ceramic or metal
objects made by the communities of northern Argentina. This culture,
considered the most important of the pre-Columbian period on the Collao
plateau, achieved not only great advances in science and art, but also
created an exceptional cultivation technique on ridges for flat lands
and on platforms (or terraces) for the hillside. Undoubtedly, it exerted
a powerful influence on other cultures.
The Pucará culture
developed in the northwestern sector of the Lake Titicaca basin, in
Puno-Peru, and had as its center the site of Pucará, from which the name
given to the pre-Hispanic culture derives, which, according to
specialists in the region (Tantaleán , etc.) had two phases of
development within the so-called Formative period: Middle Formative
(1400 to 550 BC), and Late Formative (550 BC to 400 AD). They developed,
especially in the second phase, a very particular vigorous sculpture and
pottery (the latter has excellent firing, great surface finish, and
beautiful shapes and decorations), above all for religious purposes as
can be seen.
During the period known as the Late Formative,
Pucará – a social formation in the northern basin of Titicaca – produced
qualitatively and quantitatively important stone statuary. It has always
been said that when the Incas arrived at Tiahuanaco, already in ruins by
then, they were amazed and took it as a sacred place. It seems that a
similar thing happened centuries before when it was the Tiwanakotas who
possibly marveled at Pucará. Therefore, once the Pucará settlements were
occupied by people from Tiwanaku, it is likely that the leaders of this
social formation would have taken the Pucará site as a sacred place, and
perhaps even assumed it as their paqarina or place of origin, as a
imaginary. They copied its architectural model and moved it to their
capital in the Tiwanaku Valley, in the southern basin. It is possible
that at that time, the Pucará sculptures had become objects of great
religious and ritual value, their possession being a symbol of power and
prestige.
This massive transfer of sculptures from the northern basin of the
lake, to the state capital of Tiahuanaco, must be understood –therefore–
as a great State Project promoted by the ruling elites and executed by
human contingents led by the wise men of the time who they might as well
be called engineers. It should be added that not only the sculptures of
Pucará were the object of veneration and appetite during the classic era
of Tiwanaku. So were sculptures from the Middle Formative that have been
found among its ruins. The clearest and best documented case refers to
the so-called “bearded monolith” or stela 15 that in the excavations
that Bennett carried out in the semi-subterranean temple in 1932,
appeared next to the giant monolith called precisely “Bennett” or stela
10.
The collection of Pucará sculptures in Tiahuanaco must come
from different settlements in the Pucará sphere, from a time before the
development of Tiwanaku.11 Centuries later Tiwanaku, it seems, also
incorporated into their worship, and for the maintenance of its
hegemony, strategies similar to those of Pucará. A notable example of
this would be the so-called "chachapumas", apparently priests with their
faces covered by a feline mask who sacrificed individuals by cutting off
their heads. A singular sculptural style of this culture serves us today
as a witness of that.
Stylistic development
Until now,
according to the excavations carried out by the National Directorate of
Archeology and Anthropology of Bolivia, the division of the Tiahuanaco
culture into 3 phases has been established: Villager (Epochs I and II;
1500 BC - 45 AD). C.), Urban (Epoch III and IV; 45 AD - 700 AD) and
Expansive (Epoch V; 700 AD - 1200 AD).
In the second century of
our era Tiahuanaco ceased to be the concentrated village of the early
times to become the great ceremonial city that has two dominant centers:
the Akapana complex with the buildings that surround it and the Puma
Punku located to the southwest of Akapana . Both show the double
structure of Tiahuanaco, which demonstrates the vision of Andean
society, a division that persists until the arrival of the Spanish and
even after. All the Andean cities, including Cusco, are divided in two;
Anan (those above) and Urin (those below).
In the eighth century
of our era, Tiahuanaco expands on the basis of the pre-existing
enclaves, both on the coast and in the mesothermal valleys; Likewise, it
extends its power over the highlands and the mountains. This expansion
was possible thanks to the mastery of bronze that allowed it great
military superiority. The expansion is evidenced by the diffusion of
Tiahunacota symbols and elements, which appears in ceramics and textiles
throughout the conquered area. This expansion reaches the north of Chile
(San Pedro de Atacama) and shows relationships with the Aguada culture
of Argentina, leaving its mark in the valleys of Cochabamba and
advancing north to the city of Huari, near Ayacucho; there own
modalities. The city of Huari is a focus of Tiwanakoid expansion on the
cultures of northern Peru. The city itself, with its great walls of cut
stone, is different from Tiahuanaco, with the exception of the site of
"Cheqo Wasi" whose chambers, made of large blocks, are reminiscent of
the highland city. The same can be said of the interior strata, recently
excavated, with polished ashlar walls of the Tiahunacota type.
The best known modalities of Huari ceramics are Robles Moko, with
Tiahuanaco motifs, but with globular shapes, as well as Pacheco vessels
with figures similar to the Puerta del Sol.
After the 8th
century, a great pan-Andean empire was established that expanded towards
the Pacific and north through Huari, an index of the Moche Nazca
cultures, and to the south, through Tiahunaco, reaching the north of
Chile and the north of Argentina.
In the twelfth century the
collapse is inevitable and in the region where Tiahuanaco flourished
Aymara lordships appear, called Colla kingdoms.
There are many
investigations in which different times of this culture are established.
Being so old it is difficult to establish exact years. Many researchers
take this division into account while many do not consider this
hypothesis valid since Tiahuanaco does not present different patterns in
the reliefs or in its architecture, with the passage of time.
According to the Aymara legend, the name of Tiahuanaco appeared when the
Inca Dose Capaca, the "sariri", being in the city, saw an emissary
coming running. The Inca went to meet him and said "Tiai, wanaku" which
translated is "Sit down, guanaco" transforming himself until
establishing himself as the name known until today: Tiahuanaco. Other
Castilian variations are Tiahuanaco (the most widespread), Tiahuanacu
and Tihuanaco.
Although Tiahuanaco was founded in the year 1500 AD the great period
of construction and expansion occurred from 45 BC This phase was created
through kinship units, which as society reached a state level, caused
the state to expand to create surpluses to support the administration
and elites.
The capital of Tiahuanaco housed more than 40,000
inhabitants, having at least 4 small cities or towns that depended on
it. These settlers ate potatoes and other tubers as well as llamas and
foods that came from lower altitudes. In addition to livestock as the
main activity, the use of alpaca stands out to produce high-quality wool
in fabrics and clothing and the use of llamas as pack animals, which
favored contact with allied settlements.
The influence of
Tihuanaco expanded from the seventh century, thanks to various
strategies such as verticality, or territorial organization based on
ecological floors. Such an economic system of exchange of products and
mobilization of people implied a political verticality, the direct
control of agricultural activity and an economy based on the production
and exchange of prestige goods linked to religious worship.
Most
of the population lived in humble houses, the rural population lived
scattered in the fields through houses built on mounds, while the
aristocracy had their residences on platforms of majestic buildings.
This ruling elite exercised its power and influence through alliances
and colonization, promoting political ties and creating an imperial
system from Tiahuanaco, which integrated various ethnic and linguistic
groups, extending its power over large areas of the Andean zone for the
first time.
This society was one of the most enduring Andean
cultures, reaching as late as 1100 AD. about. It is estimated that the
causes of the end of this civilization were a sum of factors. Before the
fall of the Huari empire in the 10th century, Tiahuanaco also entered
into decline, there was a serious political and social crisis, due to
the bad harvests carried out by the droughts of Lake Titicaca. The rise
in the level of Lake Titicaca, causing the disappearance of the huge
cultivated areas worked in the swampy lands, the saline deposits that
made irrigated agriculture difficult, which resulted in the simultaneous
abandonment of the city and the interior areas that were never occupied
again. In the 12th century, a bloody civil war, due to which the
collapse was inevitable and the region of the Tiahuanaco empire was
fragmented into Aymara regional states, among which the Colla kingdom,
the Lupaca kingdom and the Pacajes kingdom stand out.
Architecture
It constitutes the most important part of the
Tiahuanacota culture and its main city. It extends over an area of
approximately 600 hectares. In this city the magnificence of what was
its architecture is appreciated; the different artistic and
technological expressions speak for themselves of their high degree of
perfection. The great temples have the sky for a vault, the walls that
enclose the sacred spaces are raised in "stake-board", the segments of
ashlars are attached to gigantic pillars made with a single block of
stone. Going to the construction of several stepped terraces, immense
pyramids are built. All the temples of the city were oriented
astronomically.
Impressive structures stand out: Kalasasaya,
Semi-subterranean Templete, Kantatayita, Akapana Pyramid, Pumapunku,
Kerikala, and Putuni. The Regional Museum of Archeology of Tiwanaku
exhibits part of an important collection obtained from the same site,
appreciating beautiful pieces of ceramics, lithics, metal, artifacts
made of bone, human remains, etc. that were rescued through different
scientific excavations in the area.
Semi-subterranean temple
This is one of the most complete architectural achievements of the
splendor of Tiahuanaco. It is located more than two meters below the
level of the surrounding area, with an almost quadrangular floor plan,
it is made up of walls with 57 supporting pillars of red sandstone and
ashlar blocks of the same material. These walls are adorned internally
by 175 interlocked heads, mostly worked in limestone. All the heads are
different from each other, showing features of various ethnic groups.
It should be noted, in this pavilion, the drainage system, made by
means of channels made of stone, with a perfect slope of 2% that still
works today, and that flow into a collector.
Embedded in the
temple floor was the largest anthropomorphic piece, known as the
Pachamama monolith or Benett monolith in honor of the American
archaeologist who described it, later it was transferred to the city of
La Paz to fix it in the square next to the Hernando Siles stadium. . It
has now returned to be installed in a museum built especially so that
tourists can appreciate it. This piece has a height of 7.3 m and an
approximate weight of 20 tons.
Contrasting with the perfection of
the set and details of the monolith, it is found in the Templete
"Monolito Barbado" or "KonTiki Wiracocha" (Lord of the Waters, with
beards, and dressed in a long skirt), sculpted in sandstone rock,
accompanied by two other smaller stelae, all excavated on the same site.
Kantatallite (Dawn Light)
In this rectangular structure there is
a lowered arch lintel —in hard gray andesite— which is one of the most
extraordinary pieces in terms of its finishing details, presenting a
frieze with refined iconographic work. Due to its characteristics, it is
likely that this piece would have been covered by metallic gold plates,
and that the conquerors caused the serious damage that is evident when
they removed the golden coating. It is important to point out that this
piece is proof of the use of curved details in Tiahuanaco architecture.
Also on this site is a surprising piece, it is a "model" of one of the
buildings in the city, made by Tiahuanaco architects in a huge block of
stone where small steps and tiny patios are reproduced, which shows us
the towering technological degree of this civilization.
Akapana Pyramid or Piramide de Akapana is the largest structure in Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku). It stood at least 15 meters above plateau level. Some of the stones that make its base weight as much as 200 tons. How ancient people managed to construct this magnificent structure is still a mystery. Archaeologists still dig on the site. They managed to discover an underground subterranean temple. Additionally Akapana Pyramid of Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) served as a mausoleum. Archaeologists discovered a skeleton of high chief who was buried with a sacrificial lama as well as gold jewellery, pottery and other artefacts.
Kalasasaya
All the temples of the city are oriented
astronomically. Thus, in Kalasasaya (kala = stone; saya or sayasta =
standing) or Temple of the Standing Stones, the changes of seasons and
the solar year of 365 days were verified exactly. On both equinoxes
(autumn: March 21 and spring: September 21) the sun rose through the
center of the main entrance door, which is accessed by a magnificent
staircase. At the winter solstice (June 21) it did so at the N.E. wall
angle. and at the summer solstice (December 21) it was marked by the
rise in the wall angle S.E. This wall is known as "balcony wall" or
"chunchukala".
The Temple of the Standing Stones covers
approximately two hectares and its structure is based on sandstone
columns and cut ashlars, arranged among these, gargoyles or drainage
drippers for rainwater stand out.
Inside you can see the remains
of what would have been small semi-subterranean rooms arranged in such a
way that seven were located on each side of the patio. In the enclosure
there is a wall whose base is made of sandstone blocks that manages to
close the east, north and south sectors, leaving on both sides a kind of
atrium that separates the central or "ceremonial" enclosure. In this
second wall, towards the north side, two blocks can be seen in which, in
their upper third, a hole was made that imitates, to scale, a human
hearing device, and through which noises or conversations can be heard.
produced in remote places. These "sound amplifiers" allow us to deduce
that acoustics were known and applied in the pre-Columbian world.
On the wall of the temple there is an "ear-ritual" probably based on
religious festivities, very similar to the one existing in the Alberite
Dolmen, Cádiz, 7000 years old AP19
In Kalasasaya there are three
important sculptures: the Stela Ocho (Ponce), the El Fraile monolith and
the Puerta del Sol. In the Ponce monolith fine iconographic engravings
can be seen such as winged men, fish, puma or camelid heads, condors,
eagles, staggered symbols; in the purest Tiahuanaco art. The "El Fraile"
stela is not decorated, it is a piece carved in veined sandstone,
showing an enigmatic character carrying a staff and a keru in his hands;
It bears a ventral band where some relief traces of crabs can be seen.
Putuni
Also called "Putuputuni" (in Aymara: Putuputuni 'place
where there are holes'), it is also known as the "Palace of the
Sarcophagi", it is believed that this place was the burial place of the
high personalities from Tiahuanaco. rectangular plant, with a platform
of 1.20 m. High. In the interior walls are funerary chambers with access
to the central courtyard. The enclosure system in these chambers is
notable, consisting of a sliding stone door that slides when the floor
is moistened.
The entrance shows stepped recesses that end in a
portico (today dismantled). In the western part of the platform and at a
depth of about two meters there are main canals that were probably used
to evacuate wastewater and that formed one of the most perfect sewage
systems.
Pumapunku
Pumapunku is an approximate area of two
hectares; it is a pyramidal structure based on three platforms made up
of carved ashlars, the ground plan is rectangular with two fins that
extend from north to south in its eastern sector.
This building
was erected at the end of the classic period of Tiahuanaco, since the
technique is much more refined and evolved than that of other
constructions, highlighting the impeccable handling of the lithic
material.
In the upper part of this monumental building, there is
a small temple with its respective drainage channels. To the west, the
remains of what was an access stairway can be seen. The main enclosure
is located in the northwest sector, which still has the remains of a
cyclopean structure probably made up of four rooms, each one of them
with portals carved in andesite, similar to the Puerta del Sol.
In this ceremonial precinct, the presence of staples and arsenical
copper rings stands out, used to join the construction elements, both in
the system of drainage channels and in the reinforcement of the
platforms. The floor surrounding the temple was made with a layer of
clay colored with reddish ocher.
This colossal monument was the
object of merciless looting from the time of the Incas, until the colony
and the Republic.
Pokotia
Pokotia is located two kilometers
from Tiahuanaco. In the 20th century, the enigmatic Monolith of Pokotia
was found, which is now in the Museum of precious metals in La Paz.
Sun Gate
The Puerta del Sol is a monolithic sculpture in andesite
stone that in the past was part of another larger structure, possibly
linked to Kalasasaya or Akapana. This hypothesis is based on its design
and structure, in addition to having holes and recesses that suggest
that it fit into crossbars; all this added to the lateral entrabes make
us suppose that this sculpture fit into some larger temple or
construction.
The Puerta del Sol is 3 m high by 4 wide, and
weighs approximately 10 tons.
In its decoration, the main figure
of a character in high relief called "Lord of the staffs" stands out,
around this there are 48 figures in low relief representing winged
beings and kneeling men. The "trumpeters" also stand out below the
winged beings; There are theories that claim that these trumpeters mark
the solar movements, so the door of the sun would be a solar calendar.
Moon Gate
The Puerta de la Luna is a monument 2.23 meters high
and 23 centimeters thick. It is a monolithic arch in andesite stone that
presents reliefs in high and low relief. The motifs it presents are
zoomorphic similar to those of the Puerta del Sol, but with the head of
a puma and the mouth of a fish, and not the heads of birds as on the
cover of the sun.
Apparently, the Puerta de la Luna was located
at the entrance to the cemetery and was moved to its current location,
on a rise near the Putuni.
It is oriented according to the
cardinal points: thus, every solstices (December 21 and June 21) the Sun
rises through the door or through one of its ends.
Monolith Ponce
The Ponce Monolith is a sculpture of a single block of andesite that
represents a man in a vertical position and covered by abundant
iconography in low relief. It owes its name to the Bolivian
archaeologist Carlos Ponce Sanginés, who unearthed it and discovered
that the monolith had a cross carved on its right shoulder, for which it
is known that the sculpture was known by the Spanish colonizers in the
16th century, but left in the forgotten until its discovery in 1964.
The sculpture is found inside the Kalasasaya temple, it is
anthropomorphic and represents a standing character; the sculpture
stands out for the abundant iconography carved in bas-relief.
The
structure is 3 meters high and the character was represented barefoot,
in addition to wearing a short skirt with 5 bands, 4 of which are
adorned with geometric figures. His eyes are square and his nose is "T"
shaped, with ears carved in high relief. Tears flow from his eyes ending
in a fish head. The character wears a hat from which ribbons fall that
end in heads similar to the cover of the sun.
Bas-reliefs
depicting feathers, condors and staggered figures stand out on his body,
while he carries a scepter that ends on both sides with a fish head (the
Puerta del Sol or Puerta del Luna).
Friar Monolith
The Friar
monolith is a marbled sandstone sculpture that represents a standing
character carrying a staff and a k'ero, for this reason it was called a
friar.
The sculpture is 3 meters high and the character stands
out for having a bulging belly, a rectangular face, square eyes, a
headband and a belt with plants. Like the Ponce monolith, it also has
tears.
The degree of degradation of the sculpture is notorious,
so much of its iconography is in danger due to the climate of the
region.
Bennett Monolith
The Bennett Monolith, also known as
Stela or Pachamama Monolith or Stela 10, is the largest monument that
has been found within the Monumental Archaeological Complex of
Tiahuanaco, and was found inside the underground Temple. It measures
7.30 meters high by 1.20 wide. It is carved from a single block weighing
18.5 tons.
Cultural heritage of Humanity
In 1999, the Bolivian government
applied for Tiwanaku to be declared by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Cultural Heritage of
Humanity.
The arguments of the Vice Ministry of Culture of
Bolivia were the following:
It is the symbol of Bolivian nationality:
Bolivia is the heir to this empire.
It is important in South America:
for approximately 3000 years, it was of great importance in the cultural
development of the territories of Peru, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.
It has worldwide importance: researchers from all over the world
discover important characteristics of the Tiwanaku culture and society,
with great global influence.
It has tourist importance: it is a great
attraction for Bolivia and the continent.
Contribution to humanity:
one of his greatest contributions was "the potato" and his system of
agriculture in ridges.
Current state of conservation: given its
importance, its preservation and conservation is urgent.
Comparison
with other sites: such as Teotihuacán.
Tiwanaku Authenticity: Its
authenticity is unique.
Because Bolivian society asks for it:
Tiwanaku is a living testimony of the ancient origin of the Aymara
Nation.
On December 2, 2000, UNESCO inscribed the name "Tiwanaku:
spiritual and political center of the Tiwanaku culture" on the list of
Cultural Heritage of Humanity, "due to the exceptional archaeological
and cultural value of the stone ruins of the city of Tiwanaku, from
where a human group contributed decisively in the research and
development of construction technologies, agriculture, cattle raising,
weaving of vegetable and animal fibers".
In 2019, the Bolivian
Ministry of Culture presented to UNESCO a Comprehensive Plan for the
Preservation and Conservation of the archaeological and lithic assets of
the Tiahuanaco complex with the aim of controlling, minimizing damage,
reversing effects and prolonging the life expectancy of the structures.
patrimonial