The Tiwanaku: portrait of an Andean civilization

Kolata, Alan L.

book chapter

The Tiwanaku: portrait of an Andean civilization

Blackwell • Cambridge, Mass. • Published In 1993 • Pages: i-xviii, 1-37, 38-317

By: Kolata, Alan L..

Abstract
Kolata uses ethnohistoric, linguistic, and ethnographic data on the Aymara and Inca, along with archaeological and paleoecological data, to explore Tiwanaku culture in this broad overview. Kolata also describes the natural setting of the altiplano and Tiwanaku precursors such as Chirpa and Pukara. The site of Tiwanaku itself is explored and the way the city's lay-out reflects its sacred geography; a belief that Lake Titicaca and Tiwanaku were the center of the Tiwanaku world and its point of emergence. The city's plan, such as two main temples, also reflects the Tiwanaku belief in AYLLU and the basic division of the physical world ( and the social world) into two halves; a type of moiety relationship that is found throughout the Andes. Raised field agriculture, camelid herding, and fishing are examined as the basis of the Tiwanaku economy. Kolata's experiments with raised fields are described here. He found raised fields to be much more productive than traditional farming or dry field farming with fertilizersand pesticides. Another advantage of raised fields is that they protect the crops from frost damage. Tiwanaku's expansion and influence over a wide area is discussed. And finally, climate change is offered as an explanation of Tiwanaku's collapse.

Topography and geology

Comparative evidence

Acculturation and culture contact

Tillage

Religious and educational structures

Settlement patterns

Production and supply

Visual arts

Dependencies

Burial practices and funerals

Sacred objects and places

Chronologies and culture sequences