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Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu) is an ancient civic and sacred site consisting of former pyramids and enclosures, gateways and monuments located in western Bolivia near the southeast shore of Lake Titikaka.

Tiwanaku and Lake Titikaka StatusProtected CountryBolivia Report ByZoe Scheffy PostedJuly 2, 2019 Tiwanaku (or Tiahuanacu) is an ancient civic and sacred site consisting of former pyramids and enclosures, gateways and monuments located in western Bolivia near the southeast shore of Lake Titikaka. Tiwanaku was both the political and spiritual capital of the Tiwanaku Empire between 200 and 1000 CE and was an integral part of the spiritual traditions of the Lake Titikaka region, whose elements can be seen in the sculptures and carvings on the structures at the site. Standing at an altitude of 12,630 feet (3,850 meters), the extensive archaeological site has been studied and excavated since the 17th century and has suffered destruction from colonial and industrial powers. In 2000, Tiwanaku was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and today it is a national museum and site of political importance, as well as a significant cultural and religious site for the indigenous Aymara people of Bolivia. The Land and Its People The Tiwanaku inhabited parts of Bolivia, Peru and northern Chile from approximately 1500 BCE to 1000 CE and spoke Pukina (Puquina). While Pukina is no longer spoken, descendants of this language group exist today in the same region, and remnants of Pukina can be heard in both the Quechuan and Spanish languages, as well as in the Kallawaya language of the nomadic traditional healers in the Andes of Bolivia. Tiwanaku, as a geographic area, sits between the shores of Lake Titikaka and dry highlands, in Bolivia’s Province of Ingavi, Department of La Paz. The site was originally populated as an agricultural village. Due to favorable climate with abundant and predictable rain, which made the location ideal for farming and large-scale agriculture, Tiwanaku grew in spiritual and administrative importance and became the heart of the Tiwanaku Empire around 200 CE. The urban, architectural complexes that remain today were built beginning in 400 CE. At the peak of the empire’s political power between 500-950 CE, the population soared to between 30,000 and 70,000 people. Residents of Tiwanaku colonized and traded with many neighboring communities in the Lake Titikaka region, and the empire’s reach encompassed a territory extending from present-day northern Argentina and Chile through Bolivia and southern Peru. Tiwanaku’s strength and influence was bolstered by astute agricultural and architectural engineering and impressive spiritual and ceremonial display. The demise of the Tiwanaku Empire began around 950 CE due to significant shifts in climate. The Titikaka Basin suffered from extreme drought and the agricultural prosperity of the empire waned. The population dispersed to other areas and many people perished. The city was abandoned and the Tiwanaku Empire had dissolved by 1000 CE. The Inca people who later populated the shores of Lake Titikaka and surrounding highlands incorporated Tiwanaku into their own mythology and worldview, building upon the legacy of the powerful empire. Today, Tiwanaku remains a significant spiritual site for the Aymara people who live in this region of Bolivia. Spirituality, Lake Titikaka and Ancient Tiwanaku The Tiwanaku Empire connected spirituality, power and authority between the physical space of Lake Titikaka and the highland site of Tiwanaku. Temples were built at both sites and the shared imagery of the snake, condor and puma are significant in the religious and cosmological expressions that linked the two sites. Several scholars have pointed to the connection between the spirituality, agricultural patterns, monumental architecture and artistic depictions of the Tiwanaku to earlier and other regional cultures, such as Chiripa, Pucara and Cusco. Known as the Yaya-Mama Religious Tradition, many artifacts discovered in the Lake Titikaka region feature similar motifs and show a long integration within the geography and cultures of the region. Lake Titikaka was the spiritual birthplace and center of the cosmos in the Tiwanaku and Incan worldviews and remains a sacred site for the indigenous peoples who continue to live in the region. Lake Titikaka is named for the puma, a spiritually powerful animal. In the modern-day Quechua language, titi means puma and kaka means mount, while in Aymara titi means puma and k’ak’a means white- or grey-haired. According to Incan mythology, which followed the Tiwanaku by hundreds of years, the god and great creator Viracocha emerged from Lake Titikaka to create the world after a great flood. He brought the Sun (Inti) out of the Island of the Sun near the southern shore of Lake Titikaka in present-day Bolivia, the Moon (Mama Killa) out of the Island of the Moon to the east, and created the cosmos with stars born from the lake. Viracocha then created the first humans at Tiwanaku out of stone. Viracocha was an omnipotent god who controlled the elements, the weather and agricultural fortune. Viracocha is depicted at Tiwanaku on the Gateway of the S...

Tiwanaku and Lake Titikaka – Bolivia