archjeological hikes in the andes

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L 1j ARCHJEOLOGICAL HIKES
IN THE ANDES
1,13 P-. C. ¡lit;,l of lioli^ íu, oi'h tho _Uuie^ ¡ti thf R;,c I,_rounrl
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CIO 1 Z̀
B I A _ CLWU
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An Introduction lo Two of the Four Great Pre-Spanisi, (' altores
B1 1VI :NI)I':LL C. BI:NNI':TT
AssistartCuratnriu:Autltut. - d:t}, 1nu•rira ❑ Aln:rntu
C
)NS11 )EREI) as a w~ole de archaology of Bolivia is a definite part of
the Andean region whicll includes
highland and coastal Peru, as w(41 as
parts of C'hile and Ecuador . Of the four
Lest known prehistoric Andean cultures,
Nazca, C'himú, Tiahuanaco , and Inca,
Bolivia holds the center of the Tiahuanaco
cultureas well as reinnants of the Inca and
traces of the Nazca. Thus its position in
the ¡ve-Spanish histonv of the Andes is
nnport:tnt.
Adolpli R: (ndelier , notcd Anterican
scholar and arel ologist , v as one of the
first scientists lo recognize the iniportance
of Bolivian arch a,ologv . During the years
1897 lo 1902 he niade innumerable exeurStons lo ruins on the alto plano , excavating, drawing plans , and carefully gathering material . These collections are now
in the American
_A1useum of 'Natural
Historv. Thcir value lies in conipleteness
rather than in uniqueness .
Bandelier
published one excellent studv on the
Islands of "1-iticaca ami Iioati, :gis r•.u11
as short articles oil various loealities in
Bolivia. The nmss of his material,
however, has never peen thormighly
descrihed. Obviously- first hand knowledge of tlie country is essential lo the
proper analvsis of ihese excellent colleetions. Ther('fore, during the last year,
lb. 1% Phillips and 1 spent :dmost six
months in Bolivia making a survev of
the arch;eol1gical possibilities, esatuining
cttllectious. and exeavating on a silla]]
scale.
1 should like lo describe hrieflv sunle of
the ruins w]tich we visited in 1he southern
higlibinds of Pera and Bolivia. For referente conveniente, 1 nave included the
small sketch map whicll shows the cites
nlentioned. It is posible to do little
ubre than give inipressions of the dihet•ent ruins, each one of which is a fiel! of
studv in itself. The cultores representad
hv a ruin must be nientioned, since the
account is one of a curve}- specifically
16!
NATURAL HISTORY
THE EXPEDITIO\'S ROUTE
Mal) of northwcest Bolivia and southern Peru, including Lake Titicaca, which indicates the localities
mentioned in this article
ii,ttnded to trace their distributions. The
three cultures generally encountered in
Bolivia are:
Tiahuanaco-The oldest highland culture centered about the ruin of the sarne
narre near the southern end of Lake
Titicaca. It was a highly advanced culture, distinguislied by monolithic buildings and fine stone carving.
Inca--The culture centered about Cuzco, the ancient capital, which dorninated
all Peru and most of Bolivia, Chile, and
Ecuador, at the time of the Spanish
invasion.
Chullpa--An indeterniinate classification includirig all material not definitely
Tiahuanaco nor Inca. anti especially postSpanish material. Further study will
undoubtedly give niuch stricter limitations ,in(¡ much greater significance to
the Chullpa culture.
Against this brief background let us
begin the hikes in the highlands.
Froni Mullendo, Peru, the ascent to
the "alto plano" lhigh plateau) of Bolivia
is a rapid une. AVith hui night's stop
in Arequipa the train chugs onward and
upward. It is not until a pass more than
15,000 feet aboye sea level has been
crossed that a slight descent is made to the
plateau, itself 13,000 feet in altitude. In
the rarefied atmosphere the nights are
sharply cold. The body is enervated by
the weakening effects of the "soroche,"
or mountain sickness. The landscape is
barren, hecause no trees grow: and
scarcely a bush breaks the monotony of
the sharp-edged hills. A few straggling
houses and a gathering of Indian pedcllers
announce stations along the railway,
while hervís of llamas, or occasionally the
more timid alpaca and vicuñas, present
the only sign of life on the purple hills.
«'as this the homeland of two of the
greatest cultures of the Andean region:'
It was this question that Phillips and I
discussed as the train droned along.
On the new steaniboat, the "Inca,"
we crossed the icv waters of Lake Titicaca, and soon viere riding again on the
train from Guaqui to La Paz, capital of
Bolivia. TI- f"St -,;.. ` La Paz
1
4 PCT! 4:OLOGICAL IIIKES IN TIIE ANDES
165
CH(LLPA GRAVE
1-pr¡ght slabs of stone forming ovals or rectangles «-hich
mark burial sites are commonly eneountered ¡ti Bolivia
really gives a feeling of
peace. Its glistening tinroofed houses are
pocketed securely in a
valley, a thousand feet
below the bleakness of
the high plateau. A long
glacial range euts a
jagged white skyline.
Illimani , king of glacier
peales, guards the highland capital.
We started out in an old Buick with an
Italian chauffeur for the tocan of Achacachi at the southeast corner of Lake
'l'iticaca. The Italian ran his car into a
niud hole, so cae went on by truck, surrounded by Indíans. The extraordinary
rice in the lake's level had made the roads
impassable in places, so we advanced by
Inule-back. Eventually we set up camp
in a bare adobe room at Macalava and
started scouring the hillside for ruins.
On the first afternoon 1 discovered a small
ruin with the fancy- name of Te! iliuput!ungu, which consisted of several rooms
built of crude mountain stone. Later,
nvhen ave liad fotind several really large
ruins, 1 received plenty of comments
about my "sheep-pen."
The ruins which dot the low foothills
overlooking the lake flats between Achacachi and Escoma are of Inca construction. Most of them viere built as fortifications. Their situation is on naturally
protected bluffs, and they are further
protected by heavy walls made of parallel
rocas of big stones set on edge and filled
with small stones and rubble. Within the
enclosure are many houses built around
rectangular courts. All openings and
doorways face inward toward the court,
and thus the blank outside walls of the
stone houses serve as a secondarv defence.
The houses are small,
one-room affairs, made of
carefully laid stone. The
stones are selected and
split, hut not dressed.
The doorwavs are narrow
and rnuch wider at the
base than at the top.
\Vithin the houses are
shelves, formed of fiat
stones built ¡tito the va11,
and niches Inade by :in
AN INCA HOUSE
The narrovv dooroav converging al the top is charaeteristic of these houses
1 66
N_1Tl Ii_IL Il1.'lY)lilFROM RESIIESeE TO
SHEE;P PE\
Jianv- of the stone houses on
the ruins are still intact after
more than four hundrod
years. The}- serte tokiav as
sheeli corrals
arrangenrent of stones in the walls.. but
no «indows. The roofs are also of stcne.
The principie is quite simple. Fíat stones
are projected inward froni the walls and
weiglited do«-n by other stones. On top
of these other stones project still farther
imwward. and are in turn weighted lown
behind. The process continues until the
house is roofed. The result is a corbeled
arch.
\Ve ascended a peak called Monte Hipe,
to visit the ruin "Hirnoko." Although
plainly visible from the lake fíats, the ruin
renrains almost hidden until you are right
upon it. Then suddenly the vastnes_s of
the unlny houses, walls, terraces, and
platfornlsisspread before
you. The great ruin
seenis to be the kev
fortress to the series we
viere studving. It heads
ene hranch of tire valle.v
of tiu11u11uni «-hich contains about seven rtrins.
It stands aboye \Iacalava
and tlic four ruins along
THE; LARGE;ST HO1-SE; OF
THE MA('ALAIA RI-INS
Nisteen feet lona, tivelc-e
wide, and thirteen high, and
once covered iv ith a stone
roof, N-ithout emliloving :ut}great thiekness in the walls
the flats. To tire test it
comlu.uxls the valley of
honioko.
It is probable that the' e
forts mere used only during times of strife. The
lake flats served as farni
land then as no«-. An
isolated ruin like Hirnoko
was probably the last
stand. Its thousand small stone houses
would paye sheltered quite a population.
`inall lakes of fresh water viere near it.
Its heavy walls and the almost vertical
bluffs malle it practically impregnable.
This type of ruin is conimon along the
eastern side of the lake. Farther north in
the Suchez valley are many others, most
of theur containing stone towers. These
towers are from one to two yards square
at the base, and some are still from four to
five yards high. The construction of
these towers is generally the sanre. A
shelf of flat stones extends across the
interior of the tower about four feet from
the ground level, thus forming a chamber
a r'í'11-EOL OGIC_-1L HIKES IN THE ANDES
16 7
THE C'OIIBELED AHCH
OF INCA CONSTRUCTION
The roof of the house has
fallen in hut the first laver of
fiat stones that lrroject invard from the ^c:dls can he
seen
in the bottoni section
«-liich is entered by a
low doomay. The part
aboye the shelf is left
hullow in soote towers,
but in most of them it
is filled in solidh• with
stones and flirt. These
towers are found at niost
of the ruins . At first we
thought of thenl as watch towers, the
hollow interior, the shelf across the ceriter,
and the strategic location of some of them,
all supporting this opinion. The towers of
the last group of ruins viere, however,
clearly burial places. Skeletons viere seen
in almost every one. One ruin contained
fifty-- three towers, nlany of thent grouped
together in clusters of four or five. Witile
the first use of towers may have been as
lookouts, the sepulchre function certainly
dominated at the end.
We now leave the high plateau and go
down toward the interior of Bolivia.
It is a long two-day train ride from La Paz
to Cochabamba, where the height aboye
sea level is little more than 8000 feet.
The sheltered valles supports trees and
all sorts of semitropical greenery. "]'bree
types of ruins exist here. \ear The pueblo
of Pocona is a complex ruin of late Inca
type called, characteristically, "Incallata" ("hous(, of the Inca"). Large
temples with high walls of stone reinforced
w ith adobe, well built walls and hottses
tw'ith niches and open Windows, elaborate
fortification walls, irrigation ditches and
"baths " for washing gold, all indicate
the advanced Inca civilization , and perhaps the beginning of 8panish influence.
Iluri is another tepe of ruin. While
foundations of ancient buildings can be
traced with difficulty. the
most interesting section
of the site lies undergrouttd. A dcep streanl
gorge indteates a disturhed depth offrontten
to twyelyc feet, althottgh
this m : tximunl is by no
nuesns uniform . Exca\ation reve:ds Inany stone
TOE GATEWAY OF THE
SUN
Tiahu : maco culture l ortraved in a nun olithir gateVcet' of po ished hasalt,
decorated with oi thica1 running figtn'ec and sun gods
168
NATURAL HISTORY
DETAIL OF CARVING ON
I "AIST OF LARGE STATUS
The running figure of this
design is almost identiea1
svith the row of figures (-in r he
Gatewav of the Sun. The
delicate design is in marked
eontrast to the massiveness
of the statue
ituplements, ases, grindstones, polishers,
bowls, and other types, as well as comnton
pottery and some burials with longitudinally deformed skulls. Some of the finer
stone work looks like Inca material. The
pottery, however, is of the so-called
Chullpa type and nowhere is there any
suggestion of Tiahuanaco.
Tiahuanaco pottery is found in mounds
near Cochabamba. These mounds, about
thirty-five yards in diatneter and two to
three high, are artificial and contain
burials as well as many potsherds. While
the pottery has the conventionalized
designs of pumas, condors, and humana,
it compares with the decadent rather than
the classical style of the
real Tiahuanaco ruin.
Before we visit any
more sitos, the Tiahuanaco ruin must be seen.
Really it should have
been visited first, as it is
the dominant note of
Bolivia. The Tiahuanaco
designs and drawings of
A BEABDED STATUE
Lving heside the large statue
is this smaller one with hands
outspread. Two pumas can
he seen below the waist fine.
\ote the contrast in stvle
hetween this figure and the
great statue beside it
pumas anei Condors llave
had an extensive influence on modern Bolivia.
Friezes of Luildings,
borcíers of progratnmes,
decorations on medals,
all incorporate the elements of the ancient art.
The Tiahuanaco ruin lies at the southern end of Lake Titicaca, three hours by
train or truck from La Paz. The ruin is
justly famed, not only for its gigautic
dressed-stone masonry and distinetive
art, but also as the center of a great culture which flourished in the highlands long
before the Incas appeared on the scene.
Only a brief description can be given here.
Calasasaya, the sun temple, is a rectangular structure once outlined with walls
built of upright blocks of lava and sandstone filled in between with smaller finished stones. Todav little more than the
uprights remain. Within the outer wall of
monoliths is a smaller enclosure. At the
-t 1?C r-I.EOLQGICAL IIIRE,S IN THE ARDES
169
1
THE GREAT STATUE OF TIAHUANACO
Twenty-four feet of carved stone as it was uncovered by the laborers. The medallions on the leg
decoration probably rcpresent cloth. The early historians viere particularly impressed by this
eastern end of the temple is a massive
stairway of sandstone blocks, flanked by
two pillars. In the northwest corner of
the temple is the famed "Gateway of the
Sun, " cut from a single block of lava and
finely finished. The frieze carved on this
gateway has been correctly described by
Means (Ancieni Cizrilizations of ¡he Andes;
p. 130) as the summation of classical Tiahuanaco art. The Viracocha god figure
in the center, the stylized representations
of punas, condors, fish, caracols, and
hunians, all are characteristic of the art.
Another smaller temple lies to the West
of Calasasava, and to the south is the
artificial fortified hill, once stone-faced,
called "Akapana." Puna-Puncu lies at
some distante to the southwest of the sun
temple and consists of both lava and sandstone blocks, shaped and jointed for some
building, the exact nature of which is unknown. The weight of some of the stones
has been calculated at one hundred tons.
To the east of the sun temple (Calasasaya) is a small, square enclosure which
has been designated by Posnansky as the
first period phase of Tiahuanaco. His
excavations uncovered many stone heads
of primitive Tiahuanaco style. Thus,
when we obtained permission to dig ten
test pits, each limited to ten square
meters in aren, this first period temple was
one of the chosen places. The depth of
the pit liad reached little more than half a
meter when a large stone was struck,
which soon was identified as the head of
an enormous monolithic statue. Tus our
plans viere modified sufficiently to uncover this new idol. It is of red sandstone
and measures, from head to base, about
twenty-four feet. The width and thickness average more than a yard, which
indicates a weight of about eighteen tons.
The size of this statue is unique, but the
style of carving is typically Tiahuanaco.
The head is wrapped with a vide band
aboye which are grooves representing
plumes. The fase is stylized. Three
tears stream down the cheeks from the
eres. Both hends are on the chest. A
170
NATURAL HISTORY
TEMPLE OF THE MOO\; PUMA PUNCU
One of tbe units of the Tiahuanaco ruin is this temple of carefully carved hlocks. The stone in
the foreground weighs one hundred tons and vas fitted and joined to the other blocks by means of
copper keys and clamps
cup is held in the left hand, while the
right grasps somc unidentifiable object.
Delicate running figures, closely resembling those on the Gateway of the
Sun. are cut on the chest and waist.
There is a vide carved waistband, and
below it a polka-dot design probably
designates sofne forro of cloth pants.
Five-toed feet rest on a stalwart base.
«"ere the statue erect, it would stand
approxiniately in the center of the small
temple. Furthertnore, were one to stand
in the center of the sun temple ; Calasasaya) and lock toward the Evt across the
nionolithic stairway, he would see the
erected statue in the very center of the
stairway, cutting its outline against the
sky aboye the loar- hills on the horizon.
COURSED MASONHY OF CUZCO
kt hen the plaster is seraped uff c1 11-:111 in Cuzco,
ancient Inca capital, a beautlful stone hacking
fs (,ommonl, revealed. :kbove *his wall the plaster can still be ..-een
Since the center of the stairway has been
calculated as the setting point of the sun
during the equinoxes, the position of the
statue gives _e.
.1 R('II EOLOGI('AL IIIIiES IN THE ARDES
It is unjust to leave Tiahuanaco «ith
su brief a description, but time is pressing.
The Islands of Titicaca and Koati are the
next stop on our itinerary. These stnall
islands are famous in the uiythology of the
Incas as the origin of that great culture.
A chugging ride in a gasoline launch
across the peaceful waters of Lake Titicaca brought us by moonlight to the Island
of the Sun (Titicaca). With Bandelier's
admirable map in hand we visitecl most of
the cites recorded by hini during bis long
stav on this beautiful island. i\lost of
the ruins are of Inca and Chullpa types,
though some well dressed stones suggest a
previous Tiahuanaco influence. NVe
wandered down a stone-pared trail of the
Incas to visit the cat-shaped rock hill
called Titikala. The ruin of Chincana,
asear by, proved a complexity of valls,
covered passages, and doorways.
A short rifle brought us to the Island
of the \loon (Koati). The one large
171
"THE GALLOWS" NEAR COPACABANA
Cut stones form a platform betnceen two natural
monoliths high aboye the pueblo of Copacabana.
The appearance suggested the moderas designation of gallows
THE FORTHESS OF SACSAHUAMMAN
This is the lowest of three terraces which form the baste structure of the fortress. The handling
and careful fitting of stones weighing many tons is one of the wonders of the world
1;2
NATURAL HISTORY
A DOOR«"AY AT MACHt"
PICHI-
This c!assical example of fine
Inca masonry is found at the
ruin at Machu Pichu. The
doorwav converges at the top
in characteristi(, fashion
more thoroughly described by trave lers and
scientists than the parts
of Bolivia already visited,
,in(¡ so the inadqu
eacy of
temple consists of rooms built around
three cides of a court which overlooks the
lake. Elaborate doorways, and steppedniches are still partly covered with the
mud-plaster and paint which once malle a
gaudy spectacle.
Once again at the Sun Island, we visited
the Inca fountain, erroneously claimed to
spurt salt water from two of its three
spouts . Then to the ruin of Pireo-taima,
very similar to the temple on the Jloon
Island. It has small, square rooms in
which the corbeled arch has heen utilized
for a dome.
«"e continued in the launch to the
peninsula of Copacabana, famed for its
Virgin and the 6th of August fiesta.
There we visited a site called a tribunal of
the Incas, which consisted of many stone
seats cut out of solid rock. Appropriately
enough we found the "gallows" high on a
hill behind the town. Here two natural
upright rocks about four feet apart have
had notches cut out at 14 feet aboye the
ground and dressed stones placed between
in the forro of a slightly convex platform.
As our journey continues we must leave
Bolivia and enter Peru, though continuing
on the plateau. It is impossible to sum
up the complexity of Cuzco and the nearby- ruins of yIachu Pichu and Ollantaitambo. However, this regios has been
my account here can be
easily supplemented by
the interested reader.
Cuzco is one of the
most picturesque of the
highland towns. Colonial architecture
has been superimposed on the old Inca
capital. Where the plaster has fallen
away, the stalwart Inca walls, or wellcut Inca gateways are still to be seen in
the streets of Cuzco. Indians with herds
of llamas still pack the narrow streets as
their ancestors did before them. Inca
walls are of three types in Cuzco. There
ROU DED CORRER O\ SECOND TERRACE
OF SACSAHUAHA\ FORTRESS
The terraces are laid out in sawww-tooth plan for
better defense. Th; ;^ nne ,.f th- -, Note
the intrica
BIBLIOT ECA ET1Vú'^Cv,L;
COCHABAMBA - BO! IVIA
ARCHZOLOGICAL HIKES IN THE A .A-DES
t-
173
AT THE IWI\ OF
OLLANTAITAMBO
ne
he
he
op
A long, niched wall, on a
terrace at this famous ruin.
The niches, the masonry, the
gateway at the end are all
typically- mean
eid
ts
d,
-)f
>e
w
is a wall of dressed rectangular stones, carefully
laid in horizontal romos,
with a smooth finished
appearance. A somemwhat similar type is composed of small blocks also
laid in horizontal rocas.
The blocks are rounded
on the front side and
thus do not give that smooth effect. The
third type is the polygonal, in which
stones of different shapes and sizes are
ingeniously cut and matched into a crackless wall. This is the type of wall utilized
in the fortress aboye Cuzco, called Sacsahuaman. Tremendous stones are employed. Rectangular, curved, triangular,
and wedge-shaped joints are seen. Each
stone must have been brought to the wall
and then cut and fitted, as no plan could
possibly have been made in advance for so
irregular a structure.
A remodeled Ford on flanged wheels
skids rapidly down the track from Cuzco
to \Iachu Pichu ( the Bite made famous by
Hiram Bingham ). From the end of the
railroad track a foot trail leads almost
straight upward for an endless distance
to the ruin. The heat is stifling: the
heart pounds mercilessly in the high
altitude; the mind pays tribute to the
Incas that built a city on top of such a
hill. The buildings of fine coursed masonry, the cut stone seats , the terraces and
steps all represent the finest of the Inca
work . The ruin is extensive . Across the
deep valley can be seen a peak rising
high abone \lachu Pichu . No trail remains to the summit of that point. Our
guide cheerfully informs us that some
ruins viere there, too.
DETAIL OF A MONOLITHIC WALL AT
OLLANTAITAIIBO
Six large slahs form a wall on one of the upper
terraces and probably represent a period contemporaneous with Tiahuanaco.
Back toNvard Cuzco on the sanee railway line from \ Iachu Pichu is the ruin of
Ollantaitambo . Three types of building
are represented , as well as cut stone seats,
baths, and fountains. The commonest
building is of stone , faced and filled with
adobe, and covered with yellow paint on
the outside . The fine construction work
of the M achu Pichu type is also found in
1 74
NA TURAL lILI;TORY
walls, nichos, and door«-ay-s. I'inally
there is one excellent wall, and various
individual blocks of sandstone, well cut,
finished, and fittecl. The treatnient of
this stone certainly- suggests Tiahuanaco
influence, and the double step design
carved on one of the wall slabs augments
this idea
In this sketchy account of hikes in the
Andes, six ntontlis' «-ork is recorded in a
feto- papes. Scme of the details and the
problems are suggested, though obviously
little more can be done in so short a
space. The first great problem in the
highlands is the analysis and description
of Tiahuanaco culture. Then. the distribution of this same culture ami its relation
to other cultures, not only- in the highlands
but also on the coast of Peru, is of paramount importance in a historical study.
There is some eviclence that Tiahuanaco
influence spread far. ('arving of Tiahuanaco style has been found in northern
Peru, at Chavín de Hitíintar. and as far
north as Ecuador- The exact determination of the relations_hips is a matter for
considerable study. So, for the time, we
trill return to sea level and resume tzork.
CARV ED STO N E HEAD FROJI TIAHtA\ACO
Found near the great monolith but rep
[ resenting
a completely different style of n- orkmanship,
thought b y maní- to be the earliest Tiahuanaro
art
BIBLIOTECA ETNOC
OGICA
CO[W R^ A9
_ gr! 1VlA !^