Pumapunku

The Pumapunku pyramid is a temple located in Tiahuanaco, Bolivia. In the ancient, Andean language, the name Pumapunku means, "The Door of the Puma." It is situated near the south eastern shore of Lake Titicaca, and sits on a plateau of the Andes about 13,000 feet high. Presently, one can only find the dilapidated remains of this once extravagant temple. The weathering and destruction of the Pumapunku pyramid and other temples were caused by natural phenomenons and the looting of conquistadors.

The Pumapunku pyramid was one of Tiahuanaco's most desired temples. It stood at least 56 feet tall and took up an area of 164 feet square. Archaeologists have also researched that the blocks used to build the temple weigh approximately 200 tons. The most mind-boggling fact was how these blocks were moved to a height of 13,000 feet without any recorded proof of technology. The ancient Andean left no written documents, only legends. These legends date back around 550 A.D., which was when the temple was presumed to have been created. There are only two significant factors that can prove the mystery of Pumapunku, and that is its cultural significance and engineering.

History

Cultural Significance

The Pumapunku pyramid was one of Tiahuanaco’s religious temples. Many archaeologists believe that thousands of people made pilgrimage to this temple to pay tribute to their god, Viracocha. However, this theory could not truly be proven due to the artifacts excavated in the surrounding area. Archaeologists came to another conclusion, that the areas surrounding Pumapunku and other temples were highly active with artisans, or master craftsmen in pottery, sculptures, and gold creations. In conclusion to the theory of pilgrimage, the "Reader’s Digest Association: The World’s Last Mysteries states", cquote|

"So any theory which proposes large numbers of outsiders flocking into the city breaks down before this lack of evidence (136)."

This is because artifacts lying in the vicinity are common to Tiahuanaco’s culture.

Although the Pumapunku pyramid has been dilapidated after years of weathering and plundering from conquistadors, many archaeologists have made observations of the temple’s religious significance. Pumapunku was believed to be the mirror image of another temple named, Akapana. The Pumapunku and Akapana temples faced towards the Andes Mountains located east of the region. This fact proves that the Andes were considered sacred to the early people of Tiahuanaco. The doors of both temples also faced the sun whenever it rose, which could indicate the worship of a sun god. Researchers believe that their god named Viracocha was the sun god, since he was always represented with a halo-like aura in pictograms found on temple walls. Researchers have drawn what the temples looked like back in their day. They observed that the temples’ stairways also ascend in their east and west wings, and contained intricate designs colored in gold and turqouise. The culture of early Tiahuanaco played a very important role to the designs of the temple. It presented its culture as a sophisticated civilization.

Engineering

The true mystery behind the Pumapunku is its engineering. What makes this temple’s creation unique?

• First of all, Pumapunku and the other temples are located at an elevation of at least 13,000 feet on a plateau of the Andes.

• Second, the blocks brought up to build the temples weigh about 200 tons. The processes and technologies of the creation of these temples are unknown. Archaeologists believe that the answer may lie in the labor force of ancient Tiahuanaco. Perhaps, several hundred laborers made a harsh trip carrying a 200 ton stone block from a quarry to the plateau. Early engineers needed a strong labor force to complete their tasks successfully. Researchers say that the invention of the wheel may have been unknown to them. Thus, the process of moving stone blocks was performed by pulling the blocks with ropes made of llama skin and rolling them on logs. The early engineers also found a way of getting the blocks to the plateau with the use of inclined planes, or ramps.

• The third most distinctive part of the creation of Pumapunku is its engineering. Modern day engineers believe that the base of the Pumapunku temple used a technique called, layering and depositing. Alexi Vranich, who is a field archaeologist, explains how the temple was supported:

The method of depositing or the laying down of the sand created a sturdy base for the temple. The rest of the temple was built with interlocking blocks in which large stones were connected by fitting on top of one another. Within the blocks, researchers have found equally distant holes that seemed to have been created through drilling. The holes were about six millimeters deep. These holes could have been made with the use of a hammer and chisel. The holes were used to lock the blocks together. This engineering technique is called interlocking. This technique is achieved by cutting the top of the lower stone at a certain angle, and placing a stone on top of the lower one, which is cut at the same angle. This building block style amazed the archaeologists, because the residents were capable of thinking of a building plan, such as interlocking blocks. The structural design of the temple reflects the kind of engineering expertise of the early Bolivian people.

Materials used to build the pyramid:

Analysis

Ancient civilizations arose in different parts of the world. The earliest societies developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt in the Middle East. Also, early civilizations flourished in the Indus Valley of India, China, the Mediterranean, and the Central and South Americas. All of these civilizations had something in common, and that is the propensity of the early people to build high-rise structures. Today, our societies are still in competition of constructing tall edifices and infrastructures that amaze most of us. With modern technology, our engineers have built multiple storey buildings, dug tunnels, and connected islands by concrete bridges that passed through deep waters. Human ingenuity plays an important role as mankind try to construct the unimaginable structures on earth.

The early people of Tiahuanaco showed their expertise and craftsmanship in engineering and construction. They had displayed their knowledge as more advanced at that time. Similar temples had also been constructed by other early civilizations in America, but the Pumapunku employed a technology much ahead of their time. Surprisingly, there appeared to be some remarkable similarities in the engineering feat shown in the construction of the Pumapunku pyramid and the Great Pyramid of Giza. The two cultures of the ancient people of Tiahuanaco and Egypt were both ruled by emperors or kings, and their people believed in gods. Even though, the two civilizations existed on the opposite sides of the world, both came up with the same construction idea of building similar high-rise structures. The planning, material procurement, and construction indicated parallel strategies. The utilization of massive manual labor and logistics including moving of block materials were outstanding. Many archeologists are still in great quandary, just where mankind obtained the knowledge. The construction knowledge during that time frame does not seem to fit the early era.

In conclusion, the Pumapunku pyramid remains a mystery to the archeologists who have spent years of research and investigation. Many historians and scholars are also unable to understand from where or how the ancient civilization of Tiahuanaco got their knowledge. Did it come from mankind’s ingenuity or from an alien technology?

Reference

• Leonard, R. Cedric. "Tiahuanaco: the Mysterious City, Once called the Baalbek of the New World". “Quest for Atlantis.” Version 1.3 2007. [http://www.atlantisquest.com/prehistcity.html] .

• " Mystic Places: Tiahuanaco". March 2004. World-mysteries. [http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_6.htm] .

• Vranich, Alexi (2006). "The construction and reconstruction of ritual space at Tiwanaku, Bolivia (A.D. 500 - 1000)." Journal of Field archaeology. 31.2 (summer 2006): 121 -136.

• Reader’s Digest Association. "The World’s last mysteries." Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader’s Digest Association, 1978.

External Links

* [http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/tiwanaku/project/pumapunku1.html Interactive Archaeological Investigation at Pumapunku Temple]
* [http://www.pacal.de/pumapunku.html Photographs taken at pumapunku]