﻿112 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  Textiles 
  are 
  not 
  preserved 
  in 
  the 
  rainy 
  altiplano 
  of 
  Bolivia. 
  Small 
  

   clay 
  spindle 
  whorls 
  are 
  found, 
  and 
  the 
  incised 
  designs 
  on 
  the 
  statues 
  

   resemble 
  textile 
  patterns. 
  Decorated 
  head 
  bands, 
  waist 
  bands, 
  pon- 
  

   chos, 
  and 
  other 
  articles 
  of 
  clothing 
  are 
  depicted. 
  Furthermore, 
  tapes- 
  

   tries 
  from 
  the 
  Coast 
  Tiahuanaco 
  Period 
  have 
  the 
  same 
  designs 
  as 
  

   those 
  incised 
  on 
  the 
  statues. 
  This 
  indirect 
  evidence 
  indicates 
  that 
  

   weaving 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  outstanding 
  crafts 
  of 
  Highland 
  

   Tiahuanaco. 
  

  

  The 
  site 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco 
  is 
  unique 
  in 
  Bolivia. 
  Other 
  sites 
  have 
  

   dressed-stone 
  buildings, 
  statues, 
  and 
  ceramics, 
  but 
  none 
  is 
  as 
  complex 
  

   or 
  elaborate 
  as 
  the 
  type 
  site. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  Tiahuanaco 
  does 
  

   not 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  a 
  large 
  village 
  or 
  city, 
  but 
  rather 
  an 
  important 
  

   religious 
  center, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  contemporary 
  Highland 
  town 
  of 
  Copaca- 
  

   bana 
  and 
  the 
  historic 
  Coastal 
  site 
  of 
  Pachacamac. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  con- 
  

   structions 
  at 
  Tiahuanaco 
  are 
  of 
  large 
  size, 
  and 
  none 
  seems 
  suitable 
  for 
  

   utilitarian 
  purposes. 
  The 
  buildings, 
  however, 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  planned 
  

   in 
  advance, 
  at 
  least 
  for 
  their 
  over-all 
  finished 
  appearance. 
  Some 
  slabs 
  

   are 
  cut 
  out 
  in 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  suggests 
  a 
  building 
  in 
  miniature. 
  Neither 
  

   sandstone 
  nor 
  basalt 
  is 
  immediately 
  available 
  at 
  the 
  site 
  for 
  building 
  

   material. 
  As 
  the 
  nearest 
  known 
  source 
  of 
  sandstone 
  is 
  3 
  miles 
  (5 
  km.) 
  

   away, 
  the 
  hauling 
  of 
  stones 
  weighing 
  up 
  to 
  100 
  tons 
  implies 
  well-organ- 
  

   ized 
  mass 
  labor. 
  Dressing, 
  shaping, 
  and 
  placing 
  these 
  large 
  slabs 
  and 
  

   blocks 
  also 
  implies 
  engineering 
  skill 
  and 
  manpower. 
  The 
  total 
  con- 
  

   struction 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco 
  was 
  probably 
  not 
  done 
  at 
  any 
  one 
  time. 
  

   Many 
  of 
  the 
  buildings 
  may 
  never 
  have 
  been 
  completed. 
  The 
  "Gate- 
  

   way 
  of 
  the 
  Sun" 
  is 
  certainly 
  not 
  in 
  its 
  original 
  position, 
  and 
  many 
  of 
  

   the 
  figures 
  in 
  its 
  design 
  are 
  unfinished 
  (pi. 
  35). 
  This 
  suggests 
  that 
  the 
  

   building 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco 
  continued 
  over 
  a 
  long 
  period 
  without 
  any 
  great 
  

   concentration. 
  If 
  Tiahuanaco 
  had 
  been 
  a 
  religious 
  center, 
  this 
  spora- 
  

   dic 
  workmanship 
  might 
  be 
  accounted 
  for 
  on 
  the 
  grounds 
  that 
  the 
  

   necessary 
  numbers 
  of 
  workers 
  would 
  only 
  have 
  been 
  assembled 
  at 
  

   certain 
  times 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  

  

  Much 
  has 
  been 
  written 
  on 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  who 
  were 
  the 
  builders 
  of 
  

   Tiahuanaco. 
  This 
  section 
  of 
  Bolivia 
  today 
  is 
  the 
  home 
  of 
  the 
  Aymara, 
  

   or 
  Colla 
  people, 
  who 
  may 
  well 
  be 
  the 
  descendants 
  of 
  the 
  original 
  

   builders. 
  The 
  Colla 
  were 
  inhabiting 
  the 
  region 
  when 
  the 
  Inca 
  arrived, 
  

   and 
  the 
  archeological 
  evidence 
  indicates 
  that 
  the 
  Tiahuanaco 
  culture 
  

   persisted 
  almost 
  up 
  to 
  Inca 
  times. 
  Many 
  questions 
  raised 
  about 
  the 
  

   Tiahuanaco 
  site 
  must 
  remain 
  unanswered 
  until 
  large-scale 
  excavations 
  

   are 
  undertaken. 
  

  

  EARLY 
  TIAHUANACO 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  lowest 
  levels 
  of 
  the 
  stratigraphic 
  excavations 
  at 
  Tiahuanaco, 
  

   a 
  type 
  of 
  material 
  is 
  found 
  which 
  underlies 
  the 
  Classic 
  Tiahuanaco 
  

   style 
  but 
  bears 
  little 
  if 
  any 
  relationship 
  to 
  it. 
  It 
  is 
  called 
  Early 
  Tia- 
  

  

  