In the center of the high plateau of present-day Bolivia, there existed 2,500 years ago a civilization that worshiped the Sun and built large megalithic constructions. The center of this civilization was in the ancient city of Tiahuanaco. At present its culture can be known through the archaeological remains that remain standing.
Great builders
Like other peoples of antiquity, the inhabitants of Tiahuanaco worshiped the Sun as a divinity. The great temples they erected bear great similarity to the megalithic complex of Stonehenge in Great Britain. In this sense, the archaeological remains of both places have been compared with the intention of finding some possible connection. Unlike Stonehenge, the Tiahuanaco center did not have a purpose dedicated exclusively to solar rituals but was a large city in which some 100,000 people could live in an area of 5 square kilometers.
Those who built these constructions with andesite stone did not leave written records, but current archaeologists consider that the shape of the buildings is directly related to the position of the Sun.
It is not known with absolute certainty where the large stones they used came from, but it is believed that they could come from a rocky area more than 60 kilometers away and very close to Lake Titicaca. Regarding the transport system of the large rocks, the hypothesis is that they were carried in boats made of reed that crossed Lake Titicaca.
Other data of interest
Archaeologists consider that the Inca people learned the construction techniques of the Tiahuanaco culture and thanks to this they were able to build the city of Machu Picchu.
The first Westerners to bear witness to the Tiahuanaco culture were the Spanish in the seventeenth century. The first chronicles were written by Pedro Cieza de León, considered the first historian of the Tiahuanaco culture (his work "Chronicle of Peru" remained partially lost for three hundred years).
The Tiahunanaco culture is a combination of technology and spirituality, since they were expert builders and at the same time believed in the close relationship between man and the stars.
The modern term Tiahuanaco comes from the Aymara language and literally means stone in the center.
Some researchers have even affirmed that ancient aliens settled in the territories of the Tiahuanaco culture.
Photos: Fotolia - javarman - diegograndi
