Area of the Middle Horizon

The "Gate of the Sun"

Tiwanaku (Spanish spellings: Tiahuanaco and Tiahuanacu) is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in Bolivia. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five hundred years. The ruins of the ancient city state are near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca, about 72 km (44 miles) west of La Paz, Bolivia - 16°33′17″S, 68°40′24″W. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1730x3200, 195 KB) maps of huari and tiwanaku cultural influence File links The following pages link to this file: Tiwanaku Huari ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1730x3200, 195 KB) maps of huari and tiwanaku cultural influence File links The following pages link to this file: Tiwanaku Huari ... This is a chart of the Peruvian cultural periods used by some archaeologists studying the area. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1401 KB) Photo de la porte du soleil de la civilisation Tiwanaku en Bolivie. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1401 KB) Photo de la porte du soleil de la civilisation Tiwanaku en Bolivie. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... Capital Cuzco (1197-1533) Vilcabamba (1533-1572) (Empire dissolved in reality in 1532-1537, when the Spaniards secured power over Peru) Language(s) Quechua Government Monarchy Sole ruler Sapa Inca History  - Established 1197  - Conquest 1572 Area  - 1527 2,000,000 km2 772,204 sq mi Population  - 1527 est. ... Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world,[1], at 3,812 m (12,507 feet) above sea level. ... Central La Paz La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. ...

Some have hypothesized that Tiwanaku's modern name is related to the Aymara term "taypikala", meaning "stone in the center". However, the name by which Tiwanaku was known to its inhabitants has been lost, as the people of Tiwanaku had no written language. The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ...

Cultural development

The site of Tiwanaku was founded in approximately 200 BC as a small agriculturally-based village, with a number of similar neighbors. The high altitude Titicaca Basin required the development of a distinctive farming technique known as "raised-field" agriculture, which are only found in today's South America as experimental, government-funded projects. In antiquity, they comprised a small but significant percentage of the agriculture in the region, along with irrigated fields, pasture, terraced fields and cocha (small lake) farming. Artificially raised planting mounds are separated by canals filled with water. The canals supply moisture for growing crops, but they also absorb heat from solar radiation during the day. This heat is gradually emitted during the bitterly cold nights, providing thermal insulation. Over time, the canals also were used to farm edible fish, and the resulting canal sludge was dredged for fertilizer. The use of various agricultural techniques allowed local communities to grow and population to increase. Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC - 200s BC - 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC Years: 205 BC 204 BC 203 BC 202 BC 201 BC - 200 BC - 199 BC 198 BC...

The community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and AD 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes. At its maximum extent, the city covered approximately 5.0 square kilometers, and had as many as 40,000 inhabitants. Its unique art style is found in vast areas covering modern highland Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. It is difficult to tell, however, whether these areas were part of an empire in the political sense, under cultural and commercial influence, or independent trading partners. The population of the Earth rises to about 208 million people. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... The Andes form the longest mountain chain in the world. ...

Tiwanaku collapsed around AD 1000, possibly due to environmental reasons, from an invasion of new people from the south, a loss of faith in the Tiwankau religion, or a combination of all three. The area around Tiwanaku was not abandoned, but the city fell into decay and its characteristic art style vanished. // Events World Population 300 million. ...

Architecture and art

Tiwanaku architecture is characterized by large stones, weighing up to 100 tons, with stone cutting, squaring, dressing, and notching exceeding even the Inca in artisanship. The Tiwanaku art style is distinctive, and, together with the related Huari style, defines the Middle Horizon of Andean prehistory. Both of these styles seem to have been heavily influenced by that of the earlier Pukara culture in the northern Titicaca Basin. For other meanings of Inca, see Inca (disambiguation). ... Middle Horizon The Huari (or Wari) was a Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the southern Andes from about 500 to 1200 AD. The capital city is located near the modern city of Ayacucho, Peru. ... This is a chart of the Peruvian cultural periods used by archaeologist studying the area. ...

Religion

 The name of the religion of Tiwanaku is unknown because they had no written language. 

Their myths have been passed done to the Incas and the Spanish who in turn took that part of South America. They worshipped many gods, and one of the most important gods was Viracocha, the god of action, shaper of many worlds, and destroyer of many worlds.HE created people, with two servants, on a great piece of rock. Then he drew sections on the rock and sent his servants to name the tribes in those areas. In Tiwanaku he created the people out of rock and brought life to them through the earth.

 Viracocha is carved in the Gateway to the Sun, to overlook his people and lands. 

Archaeology

Statue in Tiwanaku

Walls around the temple Kalasasaya

"Gateway of the Sun", Tiwanaku, drawn by Ephraim Squier in 1877. The scale is exaggerated in this drawing.

Much of the architecture of the site is in a poor state of preservation, having been subjected to looting and amateur excavations attempting to locate valuables since shortly after Tiwanaku's fall. This destruction continued during the Spanish conquest and colonial period, and during 19th century and the early 20th century, and has included quarrying stone for building and railroad construction and target practice by military personnel. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1160x1667, 1385 KB) Photo du monolite Ponce de la civilisation des Tiwanaku (avant les Incas) en Bolivia. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1160x1667, 1385 KB) Photo du monolite Ponce de la civilisation des Tiwanaku (avant les Incas) en Bolivia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1583 KB) Description Photo du mur droit du temple Kalasasaya (à droite quand on est en face). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1583 KB) Description Photo du mur droit du temple Kalasasaya (à droite quand on est en face). ... Gateway of the Sun at Tiahuanaco, as published by E.G.Squier, Peru Incidents of Travel, 1877 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Gateway of the Sun at Tiahuanaco, as published by E.G.Squier, Peru Incidents of Travel, 1877 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Detailed study of Tiwanaku began on a small scale in the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1860s, Ephraim George Squier visited the ruins and later published maps and sketches completed during his visit. German geologist Alphons Stübel spent nine days in Tiwanaku in 1876, creating a map of the site based on careful measurements. He also made sketches and created paper impressions of carvings and other architectural features. A book containing major photographic documentation was published in 1892 by engineer B. von Grumbkow. With commentary by archaeologist Max Uhle, this was the first in-depth scientific account of the ruins. // Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States is built in the six year period between 1863 and 1869. ... Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888) was an American archaeologist. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Max Uhle (1856 - 1944) was a German archaeologist, whose work in Peru and Bolivia at the turn of the Twentieth Century had a significant inpact on the practice of archaeology of South America. ...

In the 1960s, an attempt was made at restoring the site, but by very uninformed parties. The walls pictured to the right, of the Kalasasaya, are almost all reconstruction. The original stones making up the Kalasasaya would have resembled a more "Stonehenge" like style, spaced evenly apart and standing straight up. Unfortunately, the parties that made the reconstructions decided to make the Kalasasaya be enclosed by a wall that they themselves built. Ironically enough, the reconstruction itself is actually much poorer quality stoneworking than the people of Tiwanaku were capable of. It should also be noted that the Gateway of the Sun, that now stands in the Kalasasaya, is not in its original location, having been moved sometime earlier from its original location, which is unknown. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Today Tiwanaku is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is administered by the Bolivian government. UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ...

The Department of Archaeology of Bolivia (DINAR) has been conducting excavations on the Akapana pyramid. The PAPA project, or Proyecto Arqueologico Pumapunku-Akapana (Pumapunku-Akapana Archaeological Project) run by the University of Pennsylvania, has been excavating in the area surrounding the pyramid for the past few years, and also conducting Ground Penetrating Radar surveys of the area. An archaeological field school, offered every summer through Harvard's Summer School Program, offers archaeology students the chance to learn to excavate in the residential area outside the monumental core. The program directors are Dr. Gary Urton of Harvard, expert in quipu, and Dr. Alexei Vranich of the University of Pennsylvania.

Further notes

On January 21, 2006 newly-elect Bolivian president Evo Morales attended an indigenous spiritual ceremony at Tiwanaku where he was crowned as Apu Mallku of the indigenous people of the Altiplano and received gifts from many groups representing indigenous peoples from various parts of Latin America and the world. January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and has claimed to be the countrys first indigenous head of state since the Spanish Conquest over 470 years ago. ... Max Paredes addresses the Council of Mallkus and Amautas Apu Mallku is an Aymara title meaning supreme leader or king conferred on a Mallku or prince. The Apu Mallkus mandate is to oversee the vast network of ayllus, an ancient Andean system of governing councils that predates even the... The Altiplano (Spanish for high plain), where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on earth outside of Tibet. ...

During the fad for theories suggesting extraterrestrial visits in prehistoric times, pseudoscientists advancing these ideas were fond of ascribing an immense age to Tiwanaku, on the order of 12000 years.

References

• Posnansky, Arthur. Tiahuanacu: The Cradle of American Man (4 vol., 1945–58). J. J. Augustin, New York, 1945.

Tiwanaku was one of the locations in Tomb Raider Legend where Lara Croft searched for a mysterious dais. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

• H.S. Bellamy, who wrote several speculative science books about the ancient city and its people.

Hans Schindler Bellamy (1901 - 12 December 1982, poss. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tiwanaku

• Interactive dig (Archeology Magazine of the Archaeological Institute of America)
• Panoramica de Kalasasaya'
• Research done at the University of Pennsylvania
• UNESCO description
• Tiahuanaco on emuseum.mnsu.edu
• Tiwanaku society by tiwanakuarcheo.net
• Tiwanaku society (flash)
• Tiahuanaco, City and Empire with links to other sites (broken link).
• Tiwanaku, Environmental Factors in the Rise and Fall of an Agrarian State.
• Tiwanaku Doorway Photo, also available as 1024 pixel, 216 KB Desk Picture
• Google Maps
• Daily Life at Tiwanaku

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

World Heritage Sites in Bolivia

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos | Fuerte de Samaipata | Noel Kempff Mercado | Potosí | Sucre | Tiwanaku Image File history File links Flag_of_Bolivia. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ... Chiquitos is a region of rain savannas in the eastern Bolivia. ... El Fuerte de Samaipata, also known simply as El Fuerte, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. ... Noel Kempff Mercado National Park is a national park in the north-eastern portion of the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, on the border with Brazil. ... Potosí is a city, the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. ... Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia Prefecture Building Sucre Sucre (population 190,000) is the constitutional capital of Bolivia, seat of the Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia), and capital of the Chuquisaca department. ...