The recent discovery of an ancient temple in Bolivia may fundamentally change our knowledge of the Tiwanaku civilization. Jose M. Capriles, who made the discovery with a team of archeologists, has recently published an article detailing their remarkable findings. The temple is known as Palaspata, and sheds light on several mysteries about this ancient civilization.
A Powerful, Lesser-Known Pre-Columbian Civilization
Most people have heard something about the impressive Inca Empire from history classes and cultural references. What most people outside of Bolivia know about the ancient Pre-Columbian civilization known as Tiwanaku, however, whose state lies on the southern shores of Lake Titicaca, is next to nothing. In fact, few have heard about it at all. Yet this civilization, which died out only a few hundred years before the Incas became a prominent empire, lasted almost a hundred times longer than the Incas.
What started as a small agricultural settlement grew into a large city, and then an empire whose influence reached as far north as Peru and as far south as Chile. So why is such a significant ancient culture so much less celebrated than the Incas are? Possibly because experts know very little about it themselves, despite its first recorded “discovery” by a European in the 1500s. The answers uncovered in the Palaspata temple might put this ancient Andes civilization center stage where it belongs.
Who Were the Tiwanaku People?
The Tiwanaku culture had no written language, so what we know about them has been pieced together from the ruins and remnants they’ve left behind. These include as carved monoliths, and orange pottery with distinctive black designs painted on them. There are also well-preserved textiles and decorative carved snuff trays used to inhale hallucinogens (likely as part of religious ceremonies).
Their building skills, including the Akapana pyramid, prove they were a sophisticated society. They had a well-established religion, as shown by the carved statues of spiritual beings, and their temples were oriented to the cardinal directions. Archaeologists have also found burnt sacrificial camelid bones (the bones of llamas or alpacas) and ceremonial objects. We also know that they used a clever system of raised fields and water channels to grow crops.
One mystery has endured: how did they become such a powerful force in their arid high desert location?
It was, ironically, a project of modernization that revealed new insights into the past. The main highway connecting Bolivia’s capital city La Paz to Oruro and Cochabamba was in need of widening. Despite being a major road in the Bolivian highway system, it was still one lane until just a decade ago. The plan to expand the highway into two lanes triggered the need for a socio-environmental impact assessment of the region. This in turn required taking a complete inventory of the archeological sites in the surrounding area.
Clues About Tiwanaku’s Rise in Political Power
The faint outline of a large structure that had been hiding in plain sight for a couple of millennia was observed on the plateau of an unassuming hill, known to local farmers as Palaspata. Scientists then used various methods to map the outlines of the structure. What they found were the ruins of a ceremonial temple constructed in the same style used by the Tiwanaku State. It featured a large, terraced courtyard leading to a sunken center, surrounded by square enclosures.
This new discovery provides the missing link to how the Tiwanaku state developed its political power.
The location of Palaspata is where three trade routes converge. One comes from the highlands around lake Titicaca, where crops of tubers, quinoa, and beans were grown. Another came from the arid plains to the west where llama and alpacas were herded. The last connected to the Andean valleys to the east where maize was grown. Such a location would have been strategically important for a commerce hub, making crucial food crops and other goods available to numerous areas.
Whoever controlled such a spot would be able to command a lot of power. Essentially, they would become a cross-pollinator of cultural traditions, and gain power over the entire region. The structure found recently is clearly a temple, evidenced by pieces of keru cups used for drinking chicha (a maize beer) during ceremonies and harvest feasts. Religion would have been a recognizable way for converging people with different languages to communicate.
The size of the temple and its construction quality show that a substantial investment was made to build it. This proves that it played a role of immense importance in the region. Furthermore, it provides the long-missing link to how this culture grew to become such a powerful force for so long.
The Civilization is Older than Archaeologists Initially Assumed
Even more significant for many is that the carbon dating of organic material excavated at the site puts the date of construction somewhere between 500-800 B.C.E.. This means that rather than being just another contemporaneous temple in the existing Tiwanaku archeological complex, it predates all of them by at least half a century.
This not only answers the question of how the Tiwanaku state was able to wield such influence and power over other regions, it proves that its timeline is much longer than originally thought. The finds shows that the Tiwanaku civilization grew directly out of ancestors who already had a similar well-established religion, complex societal organization, and distinctive cultural style. It creates an unbroken line of the same civilization, lasting at least from 500 B.C.E to 1000 C.E.
No wonder the Tiwanaku complex is a Unesco World Heritage site that Bolivia is rightfully proud of. It’s time it got the recognition and fame it deserves.
Via The Cambridge University Press
Featured image by Matheus Oliveira, via Unsplash