How the Tiwanaku culture, known as the “mother culture” of South America, disappeared

His magnificence and influence reached Peru, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.

The kingdom of Tiwanaku (or Tiahuanaco)—ruled by ancestors of the Aymaras—is known as “Mother Culture” of South America.

His story is one of the richest and most vivid stories in the world. was one of them More complex and sophisticated cultures, which dominated a large area of ​​South America for many centuries.

The spiritual and political center of the civilization is located in the city-state of Tiwanaku, about 74 km west of La Paz, near Lake Titicaca. It takes 2 to 3 hours to reach there by car.

At an altitude of about 4,000 meters above sea level, they grow A planned city of the same name, which has a strong religious character and shows all its greatness between 400 AD and 900 AD, after which it gradually disappears.

“The remains of its monuments attest to the cultural and political importance of a culture that is distinctly different from the rest of the pre-Hispanic cultures of the Americas,” UNESCO said of the archaeological site.

A monumental complex of stone buildings and pyramids has been built A monolith carved with millimeter precision. It is still unclear how they managed to build the structures or bring the necessary stones, as the culture lacked the concept of a wheel.

“It was a bright city, about 4 to 6 square kilometers. One of them was full Stone pyramids, palaces and residences for the elite. Ahead of them, houses were built for the rest of the people on the lake. It is about 20 kilometers. Quite a broad space,” Charles Stanish, an anthropologist at the University of South Florida, explained to BBC Mundo.

Akapa’s pyramid is, for example, Largest and oldest of the pre-Hispanic structures in South America. It has great spiritual significance and archaeologists believe it was built around 2,500 years ago. Like the entire architectural complex, it is beautifully carved.

was designed for the city Attract people from everywhere And experts are convinced that it had segregated neighborhoods and multiracial people.

“The city maybe She was multilingual and heard various languages. Large ceremonies and festivals were organized, and they tried to attract people and trade. Their fabrics are absolutely stunning. Their beautiful pottery,” says Stanish.

They built their economy based on trade and agriculture. The metropolis was equipped Complex underground drainage system which controls the flow of rainwater.

It has about 50,000 agricultural fields, locally known as SukakolosThey had irrigation technology – amazing for the time – that allowed them to easily adapt to the harsh climatic conditions of the Bolivian Antiplane.

around him They created artificial terraces which made a continuous form of agriculture possible. and helped in the cultural evolution of the empire.

“These innovations were adopted by later cultures and They extended to Cuzco” UNESCO explains.

and Tiwanaku They established colonies around their strategic enclaves in an area the size of California. And there they, for example, put their craft stores.

Thus, they established their political and economic power: Control of enclaves or small political units and trade with the locals.

“They obtained things from the tropical forest and traded them with people from the south on the western slopes of the Andes, From the Peruvian city of Moquegua to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile” adds Stanish.

They used various materials for architecture, pottery, textiles, metals and basketry.

“They behaved like classic imperialism in that they imported raw materials and produced finished products, especially ceramics and textiles. He had Misleading compounds Which was very popular at that time. They worked in stone and metal. He had a whole range of activities. And they lasted for several hundred years,” explains the anthropologist.

“They were a hierarchical society. This is quite obvious. He had An elite class connected to royalty and the priesthood which uses traditional Andean symbols and power structures. It is almost certain that the Tiwanaku people spoke the ancestral form of Aymara, which we call Jaki,” he says.

And despite Tiwanaku’s grandeur and influence, his economic and political strength, The civilization mysteriously disappeared Without leaving many clues about the reasons.

“We have many mysteries to solve, such as its disappearance and collapse or with which technology. They transported more than 140 tons of stones from mines more than 50 kilometers from the city,” Bolivian archaeologist Luis Miguel Calisaya told the BBC.

Part of their culture or their techniques were absorbed by the Incas. And in fact, until carbon dating came into science, Tiwanaku was considered part of the Inca civilization.

But in the 60s and 70s, artifacts and traces began to appear that showed that, in fact, Civilization was long before Inkas.

This The Incas did not inhabit the Andean plateau until the 13th century. “There is now no doubt that there was a long period between the fall of Tiwanaku and the beginning of the Inca kingdom,” says Stanish.

There are many hypotheses to explain the decline and disappearance of this culture. unfortunately, Tiwanaku was looted over the centuries and much of its valuable heritage disappeared.

Numerous historical documents show that The archaeological site became a mine, from which materials were extracted to build modern buildings. According to UNESCO, evidence of this can still be seen in the nearby city center and also in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.

Additionally, only 10% of the city has been excavated so there is still a lot to do. That is why it is difficult to know what really happened.

The most sustained thesis is that a Environmental crises that produce prolonged droughts.

For Calisaya, one of the archaeological findings that points in this direction is the discovery 19 bones of young people that “we believe were part of the offering To send messages and call the gods for rain,” he explains.

Stanish goes a little further and points out that the reasons were many.

Collapse of civilization It didn’t happen overnight. It took at least 200 years to build.”

Nor was it a biological collapse. That is, the population did not die out in the short term. It is likely The settlers were slowly dispersing. First outside the big city, then beyond the immediate boundaries.

“We know it wasn’t a disease that wiped out the population. It is said that it was due to a drought that affected the agricultural system in the Titicaca Basin. And that too There were invaders from the south. It was a legend recorded by many Spanish historians.”, the archaeologist explains.

There was no single reason for it, but a confluence of many. Perhaps there is one among them Peasant revolts due to great discontent among rulers and elites.

“It’s a lot like what happened with the Maya, where people were just scattered. Whatever it was The political and economic system that supported Tiwanaku collapsed“, says.

And thus, agriculture and the wealth it produced, which had been the axis holding together the Tiwanaku political system for centuries, gradually became obsolete and There have been significant changes in terms of general health, demographics and livelihood strategies of people, causes diaspora.

“The first phase was The colonial diaspora is limited to a few places of intermediate altitudeLike the central Osmore Basin near Moquegua, and perhaps Cochabamba.”

“The second phase was a more extensive diaspora, governed by Violent disintegration of colonies around 1000 AD,

Contemporaneous with the collapse of the city of Tiwanaku or its radical reorientation by the military elite,” states Bruce D. Owen in his study “Distant Settlements and Explosive Decline: Two Phases of the Tiwanaku Diaspora in the Osmore Drainage.”

The second phase population, who settled in sparsely populated areas, established small, scattered and defensible villages. Those settled among large or well-established populations They assimilated as a lower status minority.

“This explosive collapse indicates that Tiwanaku was composed of multiple groups whose interests Diverse cannot be accommodated,” adds Owen.

When a civilization collapses, there are usually multiple causes: population growth, disease, invaders, or war. They all come together and They encompass the entire culture.

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