ibarra grasso de 1959 the ruins of tiahuanaco ibarra grasso … · posnansky, in one of his rare...

26
-- ----~ --- - -----_ -_ ----_ -- EDITORIAL «ATLANTIC» - COCHABAMBA·BOLIVIA 195 9 J , ~- -.- -

Upload: phunghuong

Post on 01-Feb-2018

228 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

-- ----~ --- - -----_-_ ----_ --

EDITORIAL «ATLANTIC» - COCHABAMBA·BOLIVIA

195 9

J

,

~- -.-

-

Usuario
Texto tecleado
PARTE II
Page 2: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

What we have called the Moon Gate is so called bysorne authors: others, Posnansky among them, keep this namefor another gate that stands in the Pumapuncu unit, withwhich we will deal later.

It is a much simpler gate than the Sun Gate, smaller andwith thinner walls. Its frontal part shows on the top a carvedfríeze, whose designs correspond in their pattern with thoseof the base frieze of the Sun Gate, although it has fishes headsinstead of condor heads.

4.- The Moon Gsre and the small pyramidsFrom where we were standing, on the West side of the

Palace of theSarcophagi, we could walk a little further towardsthe Northwest. Is is there where at first sight one sees foursmall tumuli. On one of them, the biggest and called the"Phanteon of the variolous" ,. thus denominated on accountof the many ínterments which were carried out there on theoccasion of an epidemy .. there is another monolithic door.

Before dealing with this other door, we will start bystating that these four small tumuli have all been small pyra­mids, To-day they are very deteriorated and their shapecannct be apprecíated, but the biggest still keeps its pyramidalfor, somewhat quadrangular and with a top platform that isquite planeo

T o the South of these remains of pyramids, and to thewest of the Palace of the Sarcophagi, there are some fewfoundations which 'show that there must have stood in thatplace another quadrangular building, sorne sixty-two metreslong and thirty metres wide. We cannot add further infor­mation conceming the latter, on account of its utter deterio­rated state.

Usuario
Texto tecleado
The ruins of Tiahuanacu Dick E. Ibarra Grasso
Usuario
Texto tecleado
The ruins of Tiahuanacu - Dick E. Ibarra Grasso 1959
Page 3: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

According to Posnansky it was a building of the FirstTíahuanaco: according to Bennett, of the Third Periodo Webelieve that it corresponded, like all Tiahuanaco, to theClassical Periodo

21

It is in a deplorable state; old photographs show that itwas a construction with walls supported by pillars, very muchlike the big Kalasasaya already dealt with, but in a moremodest size. Very little remains of these walls.

5.- The small Kalasasaya or semi-subterranean temple,.We are now turning towards the East. We pass by the

pillars of the Kalasasaya already described, and in front of itsperron, are found the remains of another building, a kalasa­saya of smaller size, or semi-subterranean Temple as Posnanskycalled it.

Coming to the Kalasasava, to its north side, a bit to theNorth East of the place where the Sun Gate stands, there canbe noticed the aperture of a small subterranean room, all incarved stone which had also a stone roof. According toPosnansky, this was one of the "rooms" where the personagesof Tiahuanaco used to líve. Personally, we believe that theywould have preferred to live in the Palace of the Sarcophagi,and that this was a tomb, or perhaps, the entrance or atríumof the real tomb, which might be below. There are three orfour other similar rooms, but they are all covered.

'.

We also believe that it must have been an inside gate ina much bigger building. Naturally, it does not stand in itsprimitive place.

Page 4: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de­monstrated the resemblance and relationship of these bas-reliefswith those of the Sun Gate.

Inside the building, two monoliths were found, one ofthem still there and the other, called "The Bennett Monolith" ,in homage to its discoverer, has been takec to La Paz. It isthe biggest of al1 the monoliths found in Tiahuanaco up tillnow, and it is covered wíth bas-reliefs, in the classícal style ..

Ir is fit to make clear that the shape of this Kalasasayahas nothing to with the shape of the aboye mentioned. Thename of Kalasasaya is used only in respect of the existenceof the standing stones, arranged in their present state. Thebuilding must have been sornething like a courtyard surroundedby walls; Posnansky assuined that the courtyard was belowthe leveI of the outside ground. This has not been preved,although it could be far from being impossible.

. . On the walls oí this consrruction, by now disappeared,there was a series of human heads crudely carved, of a natu­ralistic style: part of the same are kept at the National Mu..seum in La Paz. Tbese heads were the cause of al1 the argu­ments about the epoch of this building. According to theirsryle, they are not classical, and therefore to Posnanskv theycorresponded to the Pirst Period and to Bennett, to the lastoOur interpretation is based on the assumption that theycorrespond to él culture befare Tiahuanaco, these might havebeen found by the population of that time ane used asadornments. .

Page 5: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

I

""

The Greaf Perron o{ ¡he Kalasasaya...

".

"•

. -

~ .- _______.---:- _-_ - - - _

Page 6: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

A big a"dlsifl I,jllar vf the 50ut/,Wall o,·fh~ Knla;tl5dya.

••

Page 7: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

On our map can be seen a great avenue, which reachesthe Kalasasaya and the Palace of the Sarcophagi: in front ofir, to the South, stands Acapana. 1 he same avcnuc reachesthe North side of the building which we are dealing with,No traces of this avenue are left, except the space betweenthe Kalasasaya and Acapana, but P. Cobo describes it in detail,stating that it was more than fifteen metres wíde.

They are the ruins of another palace, to the East of whatwe have just described, and a Iittle to the South.

6." Knlttatayita or Kontateu«,The Indians we have addrcssed 01' listencd to, pronounce

this narnc according to the first spelling, but thcre are sornewritcrs who employ the second,

Our interpretation is that this monolith corresponds tothe First Period of Tiahuanaco, the Old Tiahuanaco. Thesanie thing we said in the case of the naturalistic heads applieshere, i. c. that this míght have bcen found by the Tiahuanacopeople of the classical period and they in turn used it asadomment, or as an ídol or god in their building. Similarmonoliths are found in Santiago de Huata, 011 thc lake coast,and in Jesús de Machaca, four Ieagues to rhc South ofTiahuanaco.

The monolith still standing in the small Kalasasaya, is ofanother style, and very primitive. It is él crude pillar, qua­drangular in shape with carved figures in bas-rclíef, and whích

. have not the geometry and beauty of the classical specimens,There is a human shape, with sorne [elines at its fecr, serpents011 its sidcs, etc. It 1S of red grindstone which is soft and easyfor carving.

31

~-~- ---- - - _. --~.:=-_. . - . ---:_--..;;;....-_----~--

Page 8: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

32

The Kantatayita has. been a building similar to the Pa..lace of the Sarcophagi, forty metres long and thirty metreswide, but it i5 far more deteriorated, only in some places canbe seen the remains of the double row of foundations, whichformed the rooms' or halls.

The rnost extraordinary thing about this building is thaton its west central side can be found the monumentalmaquette previously mentioned. It is a gigantic slab, little~ore than four metres long, four metres wide and thirty cen­timetres high. It is damaged in some places, especially wherethe perron which served as entrance to the courtyard shouldhave been, but the details mentioned before can be observedquite clearly, that is, an entrance place, a large courtyard, fívesmall perrons leading to a platform and in its rear part, sixholes, symmetrically quadrangular which seern to have servedto fit stones in the shape of smaII turrets.

This is the best and most complete maquette that hasbeen Ieft to us of all the indigenous Pre...Columbian America.

The inhabitants of the place, following an old interpre­tation of 5ome hasty traveller, believe that this maquette hasbeen a stone for sacrífices, where the blood of the victimsused to flow until it covered the aboye mentioned courtvard,and that the 5111a11perrons were used to mensure the quantityof the sacrificed blood. We heard rhis story the first timewe visited the site and it is very likely that most of the peo­pie in the place still believe it.

7.- AcapaHa or the Great Pyral11id.Frorn Kantatayita we can go directl y toward the West,

leading to a huge mound which stands aboye rhe panorama.It is Acapana, the monumental construction overlooking alITiahuanaco. It is one hundred and eight metres long, onehundred and forty metres wide and sorne fifteen merres high.

Page 9: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

. ,•

\

Reconstrudion 01 lhe 'Kalasasaya 01 Tiahuanaco, in view 01 Ihe remains11lld 01 iEs maque/le, the Kanlatayila sione. The pillars haoe seroed assuppor! to Ehe sienes 01 the ouiside retaining Ion/l. (Accordillg lo D: E.lbarrn Grasso, José de Mesa and Teresa Gisberf).

It is a huge pyramid, very much líke the Mexican ones,rnade of earth and with retaining walls in its base. On itsWest sidc it shows an additional structure, where the perrongiving access to its upper platform must have stood. .

At present, this pyramid is totally deformed on accountof the excavations carried out in search of treasures and itssupporting stones to make buildings for the villagers: but still,on sorne of its sides, especiall y toward the East, it showsfragments of its base retaining waIIs.

• •)

• Ir-,

•"

. ., ,.•

..

,

I This building has deserved quite a lot -of speculation.~Aost of the modem authors have assumed that it was a natu­ral hillock which man exploited with the idea of building upél fortress. Posnansky held the same argument. Fortúnatelv,in 1953, the Bolivian investigator, José de Mesa, was able to-reconstruct its real indívídualíty. . 1

Page 10: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

All the surface of this pyramid is covered with smaIIgreen pebbles, which seem to have come from the coast, ofGuaqui Lake. We find the same small pebbles on the surfaceof the Kalasasaya terreplein, in the small pyramids, especiall ywhere the Moon Gate stands, in Pumapuncu - which we willdeal with presently ~ and in Huayla Pucaca, another pvramidwhich stands a kilometre to the South and totally destroyed.

,

All over the place can be seen stray stones, exquisitelycarved: they have all been moved from their original sites.and therefore we can say but little about thern. To theSouth, from the small lake to the border, there are rernains ofa big covered canal, which must ha ve served as a drain forthe platform and the ceilíng of the temple.

011 its top, also, on both sides of the platform, andon the excavation already mentioned, there are still a fewfoundations sorne eleven metres wide and-counting the lengthof thepresent lake ~little more than seveury mctres long. Thes ;are the only remains of the temple which must huye stoodthere, just like the ones in the Mexican pyramids, crowningthe upper part of the pyra 111id .

A smalllake has formed on its top, the result of an ex­cavation made in 1600 by a local cornmissionaire looking fortreasures; the earth drawn from this excavation has been piledon the East side ot the pyramid, and there it forms a projectionwhich disfígures the plant and makes it lose the aspect ofpyramid to the less attentive observer. .

Page 11: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

35,

,1

..,

r.

..

. , rI

j, . J J )j t,

railway liue, ,

5,unll 1Notlolrlhic gaie, Sotlll, o{ Acapana, uear tIte

r

,• I

J

11)1 •

I

,J r , .1,

,

To the South of Acapana, near the railway Iine, there isanother sma1Imonolithic gate- It has no carving and it ishalf interred. A small distance from it, passing the lines. onecan see three monolíths, -which have been erected there andwhich show great damage. They still show píeces of beautifulbas-reliefs, but are but ruins.

On the South East part of Acapana, on its top, there area series of human bones in a formless heap; the- remains ofwho ,knows what great disaster not yet tnvestlgated.

,) ( 1

These S111a11 pebbles prove to us the exístence of acoveríng on the pyramidaI constructíons, for they are foundonlv in Tiahuanaco. It must have been a sort of cover,

'. tamped on mud, which would provide a colouring and a morebrilliant aspect4to the higher construcríons.

Page 12: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

J

l

••r .8.~ PumapuHcu

•••

Wh~t we have .said up to now covers the first uníe ofehe Tiahuanaco ruins. We have now to direct our attention•

to another unit, something whích is sepárate hut of an extra-ordinary importance on account of the remains there found,

We can reach that place by two different wavs, Thefirst fs by starting from the place where we were last, goingthrough the station and then through a senes of houses andgrounds full of boulders (there is 110 direct road): or eIse,going to the vil1age and taking the easiest and most directway which passes before the present cemetery.

Pumapurícu is composed of many things; hut the ruinsthus directly called are ehe foIlowing:

A terreplein, quadrangular in shape, one hundred andsixty metres long, one hundrcd and forty metres wide. sixmetres high: its Eastern central part has been excavated in away similar to that practised in the sluaI1 Iake at Acapana.There are no carved stones serving as retaining waÍls in itsbasement, but the chroniclers aífirm that rhey cxisted, and iris they who also say that rhis building, rogcther with that ofAcapana, were "hand-made hillocks".

To the East of this building, on tts lowcr part, there isan enormous set of carved stones, which make something likea platform sorne eight merres wide and forty metres long.According to sorne people, the blocks found he re must weighabout three hundred tons.

The main part of the platform is composed of four seriesof blocks, one aftcr another, each of them formed of two ocmore.blocks of a really colossal size.

On one of their sides, in each of these series of blocks,there is a relief which is carved formíng a sorr of «seat» andthe authors have interprcted these as such, We will presentlydeal with this belíef,

Page 13: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

Ruonslrucción in »arious planes of lIJegreal Acapana pyramiJ;•

01 lile b.,ilding ¡JI the upper parf, o"/y sorne IOllndalions remei«whereRs 01 Ihe retaining walls big blocks remain, abovt all fothe East (According to [os« de Mesa a"d Teresa Gisbert.)

-, e , . .'.

2ft ._n.nw. ti 7

....• ••

,

"

,

-;.. ;¡ ....

~~·S==--~-=-~~~,,··~,·~•

,.... ,._

••

-'~

, .~' .., J!("" , - ••._"

'.

•,

,

Page 14: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

.. . ,•

Only one of these gates, whích although in fragmentacan be pieced together (lately there has been an attempt toreconstruct it and unite it with cement), has bas-relíefs on thesame piece, but they are mueh simpler than those on the Sun

To the right of this platform (always counting from theaboye mentioned entrance), there is another series of blocks,strangeIy carved, with jutting and indented sídes, and withcarved adomments in the form of small doors and steppingcruciform squares: they are all alíned, and sorne authors havebelíeved that these fonn the remains of a wall; actually theyare a11moved from their places and have been set there inrecent times. We will presently say what they have been,but meanwhíle we have to go on wíth our descripeíon.

Díspersed among the blocks we dealt with last and par...tly amidst the stones of the platform menríoned prevíously,there are remains of four monolithic gates, which in size andshape resemble the Sun Gate, only they have no bas-relíefs,ínstead, there is a hollow as. if there a big slab couId have .been encased, so that it is verv likely that there inust havebeen rclíefs similar to those of the Sun Gate, but carved inthat additional piece, whích has disappeared.

. ~~-There are some. grooves on these blocks, lookíng líke

small canal s whích finish at each end in two er -more circles:,these are tñe remains of the places where in the past therewere "keys" or "clamps' made of bronze, .whích united thestones in order to make them fonn a whole unit.

I

One of these blocks, the third countíng from the entran­ce (there is an adobe walI surrounding these ruins, with agate),'is very deteriorated and partly ínterred between sronesso tHat- it cannot be easily seen.

•-

Page 15: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

The carving is unfinished. That can be seen clearlybecause in the part excavated by the workman who made thecarvíngs, a series of little holes can be found: these líttleholes were the mark made by the chief artists of the work toindica te to the manual workcr, the area to be scraped on thestone. Al1 lovers of fantasy have interpreted those littleholes as beíng fílled with goIden naíls, a most arbitrary idea .

r ••

HAlf a colz¿m11, «dornnunt 01the gAtes of Pumapuncu, similarlo tite MayA Ir buildings. Inthe background, a series of blocksof Ihe crumbling wall

o• ..• •

• '.•

Gate. Thís gate has been called The Moon Gate by Pos..nansky ¡ and its reliefs are similar to those of the Moon Gatein the cemetery of the varíolous, alread y dealt with before.That ts to say, they represent the ínrernal frieze which can.be seen on the Sun Gate, with físhes' heads instead of con...dor heads,

Page 16: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

40•

Also toward the entrance, in front of the comer of theplatform, there are two imporrant monoliths, about a metrein size: they represent beings with human body and pumahead, with an ax in the hand, outlined on their sídes. Theyare called «Chachapumas- (puma men).

And now, let us return to the platfonn. Beside it thereare a series of slabs, sorne four metres long and twenty cen­timetres thick. We assume they are roof covers.

Let us look at the 'edges of the platforrn. On its topside, toward the left of the enrrance, there is a sort of "edge"excavated in the stone. Its widtb coincides exactly withthat of the slabs we have just dealt with.

And now, to the other edge of the platform, the rightone. There is another "edge", a11carved: then a sort ofstep and then the srone ends in an irregular form, uncarved .

AlI these gates have a rhreshold; such as we have seenabout the Sun Gate; fuIl proof of it is found íri the fact thathalf of one of them which is found to the rigbt near theentrance,..still ~~s ,~piece of this threshold, jutting out sorneseven cenrímetres. " ~

There is another 5111a11monolithic gate, which ·is belíevedto have served-asenerance for the "sacred pumas" (?) to the\ femple, and it ís called The Puma Gate.

By the above mentíoned gate with the píece of thresholdthere are three consíderably important ·fragments of stones.The biggest, of a little more than half a -metre, shows us a"demí-colun.n ", put on a backing and ending in a squareblock; tbe other two píeces are broken demí-columns. Theseare the only remains of circular columns to be found in Tía­huanaco, and according to rheír form, must have served asadornments to the sídes of the temple gates, such as is thecase in the Mayan buildings .•

•• . ..,•

,. . , . .', .'. '",

, . ,•

, ., .

Page 17: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

With what we llave just described, we belicve we haveenough material for our interpretation, Cobo, speakingabout these ruins, tells us that the 11platform" must havebeen the temple or t<principal wall of it": actually, it is so.. It is a colossal wall, whose foundations have failed rosupport it, falling in a block. T11e part that remained, thatto the right, has been its basement and that of the left theupper part, supporting the roof. "The seats" are no suchthing, but mouldings serving as adornment to the iusideupper part of the temple. 1

J

,

41

Purnaputlcu: the idol culll!d•

o

J

,

••

'. •

••

In many placesundemeath th'eare completely

We still have eo consider one detall.o

the 'earth has slid and Iets us see a litrleblocks forming the «platfonn»: the same,smooth, well políshed. -....J A

---- - ---

Page 18: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

- -•

., .•

e.j.J{ (We cannót oéherwíse. eJt,pIaib the aboye mentioned de-tailsflj e.; the.,factJthat th€ lower ..part.of thc blocks is polís- .hed.lehe.above saíd.edges.coíncídíng with th~ wídrh of the .slabs in their upper part: whereas they are únpolished, in.theír .lower, uncarved part, the "bronze keys ct I whích should be(lseltss'in a plátform would be fully justified instead in a wall

. threatened with an imminent fallo

.. This temple, in its shape, must have been of the same,trié as those of the Mayas, that ís. a large quadrangular hall,with a series of doors toward' its front, with a flat roof. Inits upper part, a series of carved cornices forming a big frieze,remains of whieh are the stones carved in angles, and withadomments in the shape of doors previouslv commen.ted on.Later on, speakíng about· the- "Inca's writing desk" J' we willsee thís more clearly. Concerning the ledemi ...columns IC' theyare clearly explaíned on account of the place correspondingto them, and thus emphasízing the Iikelihood wíth theMayan buíldíngs.

Very líkelv I the temple existing on ehe height of Acapa­na, was similar to this one, onlv a little bigger and possiblyformed of smaller stones, which explains why it got mereeasily desrroved. The existence of doors similar te the SunGate, ínthe remple we dealt, with, indicares that that doororiginaIly must a1so have been the door of a temple, sorne­thing which undoubtedlv do es nót: 'exist in the Kalasasava.

We do not deal wírh many.other carved stones standingin this place. Ior they .have al1 been moved and cannot, bewell located as coricerns their fúnczion. But we. will com­ment on a minor curiosity .. r On the North edge of thepyramid, to the Northwest of the above mensioned temple,there are t\VO brokeri slabs, carved with li11CS and small circleson one edge. Sorne distancé rawáy, to the North East, thereis another similar stone .q~11.i'·tUuch bigger. There is anhistorical i explanation for tnern:- IGarcilaso tells us tQat the

.l"•

Page 19: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

-43

--

• •

Rectmsiruction in perspecliut 01 fhe Pumapuncu pyramid. Thefe,nplt on lh« top Iras beell reconstnuied in Iht [orm 01 a block,loifhoul the details of ils externa! decoraiion; the shapt 01 tirebuilding rltns according fo ¡he [ron! wall, which allll0ugh falle,,',remains almos: complele (According lo D. E. lbarra Grasso,]osé de Mesa and Teresa Gisbert) .

•I

'.•

•• -•-.....

,

--._._- __ o

- --- --~ _-

Page 20: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

••

-{ In our plan, to the East of the Pvramíd of Pumapuncu,we have marked a big square by means of dots. Accoraingro Coj,o there was in thar place a big square enclosure, witha stone wall. Accordíng te) the brief descrípríon, it couIdhave ·bee.1Íanother Kalas;as:aya, but nothing temains of it. Itis there a150 where he points out the exístence of two towersor burvíng l'laces, a1so disappeared. In the arca, only sornebíg dispersed stones remain. .

We wíll proceed toward the 'W'est, passing by the pyra­míd, a líttle to rhe North of its Northwest comer thete is abig carved stone with small doors and other carved geome­trícal works; it is the "Inca's writing desk" whose shape showsan immediate relation with the stones of the temple fríezespreviously dealt with. The designs of the reliefs are smaller,but idenrieg] eo tbe above mentíoned stones: this stone showsus the shaIR'e of all the uníe of the frieze, and it ís a realmodel te tíy; sorne day the reconstructíon of the temple frieze.

Frem here a littIe to the South, in front of the temple,we fínd a big cleft monolith, of sryle similar to that of ThePriest; it has been b~dlyneglected and its reliefs are almosteffaced, but there are enough srill too realíze that the workhas been most valuable. The other half: has been used inthe building of a railway bridge. We prefer not to make an·yremarks about rhís . . . . .

Prom here we can walk a little toward the West; wesoon get to the peculiar edge of an undulated ravíne, built

9.- Pumapuncu EnviroHs

Incas, taking advanrage of the stones 1m the place, had ahedifíce built there and roofed it with slabs, but, as all theInca buíldíngs always had straw roofs, they 1Icombed' thestones S0 that the roof appeared to be made of straw. Thatís exaetlv what the stones w~have dealt with were.

-_--_- -

Page 21: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

45

after dle manner of-the -terrepleíns .of the pyramide; there afetwo big entrences and rhree juttin:gs much líke points, andon the whole, quite bigh. Sorne have belíeved that tbeywere f~piers", that the Lake reached .tbeir feet, and thae they

'. were buíle oto have the "totora" cra~s approach it .. Actually; tneir real funcéíon has not been well explained,'and rhe only relfable thing to state ís that they were neverpiers, among other oehíngs, because rile Lake did not reachthat place, .They fonn a son of strange amphíeheaere and it·ís Hkelv t~at they were t~e place ~he~e great relígíous cere- .. :montes wer~held, . . ,.

One of tbe proofs, ehe clearesr,' abeut íts being an árti...ficial building, besídes its shape whlch could never have been'natural, is that al1 :the atea is cevered With the small greco.boulders ;pr~viously noted. The sanie :tning eakes "pJace aI1..over the top of the Pumapuncu pyram1:d~

.In Qut plan .there are two streets,: one qll each síde of .'rhe Pumapuncu Pvramíd: tbat of the ~e~t .ís still there, and ..a kílometre or so approxímarely ro the Séuth we can get rorhe site where the Huayla Pucara seood, a·_p:yr~midalbuil~i;ng

, identieal with Pumapuncu, In its shape and size, but total1y'destroyed and with its atea completely ploughed. There isstill pare of íes shape, enough to recogníze its pyramidalstructure, and its surface is covered with the small greenboulders, whích show the previous existen ce of "ramidal .buíldíngs. . ~

Sorne two kilometres fureher South there are stiJI otherremaíns, heaps of stone s moved &om rheír places whieh littleten us, although it is likelv tbat a thorough excavation wouldreveal quite 3 Jot. It is in this region where three beaueífulmonoliths were found, whíeh were raken ro La Paz, by Pro­fessor Maks Portugal.

These lasto places have little eo show, and therefore wewill return to the village, taking ditectty tht street we spókeabout anci wmch lcads to the church.

-- -- -- -

Page 22: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

- -

........• •

· The church is all built with srones- taken from the ruíns,but we will refer only to those making me pilasters whíchsupport the courtyard' s arcades, and which me have retenedtoo before, íe is easy -to see that this is not Spanish work, andth~t they have not been carved for the presenr building .

•r•

r

.o ' ..,.

• •

\ '

.....n ." ,\ •.\1 ,'"J , .. '\0.1 ...'" .... ~• • 1,

• ... f - ~..

'Beaufifuf caroed >, stonesl." 'ithici, 'liriit~~tly"fi'~~':Jtt~',''­, ruins, "1z;¡b~ j,een~ itsed ~f ...... .' ....

vresent 011 bol)! sia~5 oj'.- - .• the cemel.ery gnfe~ ';.' .

,•

," ,•

•", '

". ... ~.." ,, .l'

, ,.' •I. ,

, ,• •

,

,•

,,-,oc •••

,."

'. " .. ." .

,

.'

~ . Walking along the village streets we take ,~te .that in'all, the houses there- are stones taken from the ruíns, sorne .of ' ..\ . . . , ~ .. .thém 'S'how.ing beautíful g~ometri:cal desígns, ,'ltJ.ain.l~.,cn;:~be,',,:',!.'doors. In tlle squáre, 1n' trOilt oí the church, protecred by ~,~:·.fedces~there are' two monoliths III seating posirion, whích ar.e '.~állegedly man .and wife bur whích show no ind~cati9n of .. . . _. ~ .. "". ~

~their respeéeíve: sexes, ,', . .' . 1" -.i"'J.:' ,.,' , • 1 • '{' .~.',' '1· _ ,'( ~ ; J, f. I • • ...... ~, , ...t • ..,......... .' , •, ' ,

..,• ,'1••

..~ . . ..., .

. 1.(.)." MOHoliths .and othe~~'!emriiffs;í,,··tke l'teseftt vilfage'" : ~ -·~~'i:~, '. ..... . •'. .

. '•.• ••.., _.

. ' • .' , ,, ,• ••••

Page 23: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

47

I

Tiahu« IInco idol wlz;c/!slands al prrseut on f/!fside o{ fhe c/¡ttrcl, door oít},t Tialruannco village,The capifals can be seen4t ils bafik, the same asin. picture [au»: J

*

In the church neíghbourhood, turning to the North,there is a calamine 'gate looking on the courtyard. In thatcourtyard the owners have erecred one of the most beautifuland welJ...kept monoliths of the classical period, full of relíefsand in'gray seone.

In .tbe middle of the square there is a small recreationkiosk: built as usual with the sarne stones; there are manywith sculptures, and there is one especiallv, a beautiful slab-with a bas-relief representing a head of the classical sryle.'. A little further, on jhe other side of the square, at thefront of a priva te house ...there are tWQ other capitals used 'as.seats, Pinally, almost all the houses Iooking on the -square.have their doors with sides and lintels made of carved stones,showing engravings in the shape of small doors and steppjngcrosses,

,•

Page 24: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

• C'O N C LU SION S•

We have made a rapid visir ro the ruins of the capitalof the most important indigenous civilization of the Andineregion. In this visit we have not been satisfied with gazingat what exists at present, for on account of its deterioratedstate there is little to be seen at fírst view. Our work hasbeen that of trying to see what each of the edifices, whoseremains we have observed, have been in the pasto

We a1so fumish a map and various drawings, done incollaboration with Archítect José de Mesa and Mrs. TeresaGísberr, which will give a clearer idea of evervthíng.

Our map is the first complete one, of all the set ofruins, although it is smalI. One can see the outline of whatmust have been a great city, and its streets give 'llS a betterview of its main particularities, the great avcnue running Eastto West, following the course of the sun, must have been themain artery, the road of the religious processions.

The reconstrucríon must be perforce schematic, but ne­vertheless it makes the vision of the unit more clear to oureyes, and this is completed with the presentation of the re..construction of the main buildings.

Conceming the illustrations, they come from photo­graphs taken by the author in recent years, so that theywholly give the actual image of the ruins.

With this work we hope ro have contributed not onlyto a better knowledge of this great civilization, but also, atIeast to clear up, in a way, the many fantasies which accorn..pany it, in general furníshed by those who are not specialistsin these studies.

Page 25: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

.-..\

,

r

\, I

I 1 './

,V J", , IL I \ \\~t U', \. I .~..~,~

i I ,\ .¿~.-\ ,r ..-I.i

/'/ ...

\

'. I" .. \ )tI\.•r I ./

,

,

Page 26: Ibarra Grasso DE 1959 The Ruins of Tiahuanaco Ibarra Grasso … · Posnansky, in one of his rare valuable studies, has de monstrated the resemblance andrelationship ofthese bas-reliefs

-

IMPRESO EN TALLERES

«A TLANTIC»Cochabamba-Gral. Achá 165

"

,