Late Tiwanaku

  General Description  
“The final stage of the Tiwanaku kingdom, from about 725 to 1200, saw significant territorial expansion and the development of a complex, multiethnic society. Tiwanaku conquests during this period included a large part of the Pacific Coast from central Peru to northern Chile, and highland regions extending into the Andes Mountains. Around 1200, the Tiwanaku kingdom began to decline, and by the next century it had disappeared. Experts are not sure what caused this decline and disappearance, although some attribute it to climate change and extended drought. Tiwanaku civilization is known primarily from archaeological sites and ruins. The main Tiwanaku archaeological site is located in the high Altiplano area south of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The site contains many stone structures, earthen mounds, stairways, plazas, and reservoirs. Building stones at the site, weighing up to 100 tons, were brought from a quarry three miles away. The site’s renowned Gateway of the Sun was cut from a 10-foot-high stone and was carved with representations of humans, the condor, and the sun god. These typical Tiwanaku symbols also appear in the region’s textile designs and pottery. Other noteworthy examples of Tiwanaku construction are the Akapana Pyramid, a large earthen platform mound or stepped pyramid faced with finegrained volcanic rock, and the Kalasasaya, a large rectangular-shaped enclosure built with alternating rectangular blocks and taller stone columns and containing many carved stone figures. The enormous amount of planning and labor required for such vast and complex construction projects suggests that the Tiwanaku civilization must have been strictly governed and regimented. It is not clear whether the area near Lake Titicaca was the center of Tiwanaku origin or the capital of the empire at its peak, but these remarkable archaeological sites do seem to point to extensive Tiwanaku cultural, and perhaps political, influence.” ^[1]
“The disintegration of Tiwanaku, around A.D. 1000, led to the formation of numerous confederations in territories that had been previously integrated by a much larger and cohesive power structure. Although the reasons for Tiwanaku’s disintegration are still poorly understood, a recurrent argument to explain Tiwanaku’s debacle has been based on the notion of an invasion by southern Aymara9 groups, around A.D. 1200 (Bouysse-Cassagne 1988; Gisbert et al. 1987; Torero 1970).” ^[2]
“Around AD 1100/1150, the Tiwanaku State came to its end.(70) Tiwanaku, Lukurmata, and other large Tiwanaku centres were almost completely abandoned. The collapse of the complex administrative network of the Tiwanaku heartland led to the formation of hundreds of new – predominately small – settlements. Approximately a century earlier, the Tiwanaku colonists of the Moquegua Valley had rebelled, breaking free of altiplano rule. Direct Tiwanaku control may also have been resisted in the Azapa Valley, and the Central Andes saw a general waning of Tiwanaku influence. The Tiwanaku did not disappear – only the state apparatus collapsed. In art, certain aspects of the Tiwanaku style survived. However, on the whole, the following cultural period – the Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 1100– 450) – was characterised in the Titicaca Basin by social disunion and the formation of small-scale local polities.” ^[3]

[1]: (Middleton 2015: 948) Middleton, John. 2015. World Monarchies and Dynasties. Volume 1-3, A-Z. London: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7N3PNVCB

[2]: (Albarracin-Jordan 1999: 81) Albarracin-Jordan, Juan V. 1999. The Archeaology of Tiwanaku: The Myths, History, and Science of an Ancient Andean Civilization. Bolivia: Impresión P.A.P. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P7MDWPAP

[3]: (Korpisaari 2006: 79) Korpisaari, Antti. 2006. Death in the Bolivian High Plateau: Burials and Tiwanaku Society. Oxford: BAR Publishing. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UPGSC7BF