Caprilles, J. et al / Pen State
A team of researchers discovered a temple of the former Andean society of Tiwanaku, which had a highly organized social structure, but collapsed about a thousand years ago and mysteriously disappeared.
An ancient society near the southern banks of Lake Titicaca in present -day Bolivia was once one of the most powerful civilizations on the continent.
Known as Tiwanakuancient society is considered by archaeologists as one of the first examples of civilization in the Andes and a precursor of the Inca Empire, but about a thousand years ago.
Now a team led by scientists at Penn State and Bolivia discovered a Tiwanaku templecasting new light on what society was like at its height.
Much about the Tiwanaku civilization remains unknown, explains the archaeologist José Caprilesassociate professor at Penn State and main author of what the temple discovery, which was published on Tuesday in the magazine Antiquity.
“Your society collapsed around 1000 dc And it was in ruins when the Incas won the Andes in the fifteenth century, ”says Capriles in Da Penn State.
“At its height, it was sporting highly organized social structureleaving traces of architectural monuments such as pyramids, temples on terraces and monoliths, most of which are distributed in places around Lake Titicaca, ”details Caprilles.
“Although we know that Tiwanaku’s control and influence extended much further, the academics debate how much real control had About distant places, ”says the investigator.
The newly discovered temple complex is about 209 kilometers south of the established historical site of Tiwanaku, at the top of a hill that was known by local indigenous farmers but It has never been explored in depth by the researchers due to their unimaginating location.
However, the position of the place It is actually very strategicexplains Capriles.
At the time of Tiwanaku, the place connected three main commercial routes For three vastly different ecosystems: the high productive lands around Lake Titicaca to the north, the ideal arid altiplane to pastor west, and the east -productive oriental antipal valleys of east cochabamba.
Thus, the researchers say, The place should have had some importance to connect people – who moved, traded and built monuments in Places with meaning along the arid mountainous landscape.
After noticing a quadrangular land portion of unblemished land, the researchers used various techniques to view the area.
“The characteristics were very finished, so We mixed several images Satellite, ”says Capriles.“ We also conducted a series of unmanned air vehicle flights to get better photographs. Through photographya technique that uses photographs to build a 3D approach, we got a more detailed representation of the structure and its topography. ”
The stone alignments revealed a Ancient temple, called Palaspata according to the native name. The complex is approximately 125 meters long by 145 wide – the approximate size of a block – and includes 15 quadrangular enclosures arranged around a rectangular interior courtyard.
Caprilles, J. et al / Pen State
Your disposition seems aligned to perform rituals Following the solar equinox, the moment the sun is directly over Ecuador, says Capriles. Using data they collected, the researchers developed a reconstruction to reveal how the ancient temple could have been.
The surface of the temple contained numerous fragments of cups geruwhich were used to drink chicha, a traditional corn beerduring parties and agricultural celebrations and point to the function of the temple as a central center for commerce.
The fact that corn not to be cultivated locally But in the Cochabamba valleys underlines the importance of the temple to facilitate access to various goods, including food, and connect different culinary traditions, he added.
According to Capriles, the temple probably served a religious purposeevidenced by the various ritual areas, as well as its apparent function of trade mediation and harvesting distribution.
“A most economic and political transactions had to be mediated through deity, because that would be a common language that would facilitate several individuals to cooperate, ”he said, since Religion was often the common ground that turned on different groups.
The discovery of the temple was a surprise Even for local inhabitants, explains Just guarayo stoleMayor of Caracollo where the place is located.
“The archaeological findings in Palaspata are significant because they highlight a crucial aspect of our local heritagewhich had been completely neglected, ”says Ventura Guarayo.“ This discovery is vital to our community, and we believe your documentation will be invaluable to promote tourism and show the rich history of our region. ”
“With more knowledge about the past of this old place, we get a window on how people generated cooperationand how we can materially see evidence of political and economic control, ”added Capriles.
“There is still so much to find out that We do not know and that may be hidden in sight of all. It just requires opening your eyes to see what is out there, ”he concluded.
