﻿Vol.2] 
  THE 
  AYMARA 
  — 
  TSCHOPIK 
  505 
  

  

  ARCHEOLOGY 
  « 
  

  

  The 
  earliest 
  known 
  archeological 
  remains 
  in 
  what 
  is 
  now 
  Aymara 
  

   territory 
  are 
  those 
  at 
  the 
  sites 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco 
  at 
  the 
  southeastern 
  end 
  

   of 
  Lake 
  Titicaca 
  and 
  at 
  Pucara 
  northwest 
  of 
  the 
  Lake. 
  Recent 
  work 
  

   has 
  disclosed 
  other 
  scattered 
  ruins 
  in 
  Perti 
  and 
  Bolivia 
  of 
  the 
  Tia- 
  

   huanaco-Pucara 
  culture 
  (Kidder, 
  1943; 
  Bennett, 
  1936). 
  The 
  connec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  these 
  early 
  sites 
  with 
  the 
  modern 
  Aymara 
  is 
  a 
  matter 
  for 
  

   speculation. 
  Cieza 
  and 
  Father 
  Cobo, 
  in 
  descriptions 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco, 
  

   state 
  that 
  the 
  Indians 
  did 
  not 
  know 
  who 
  had 
  built 
  the 
  site. 
  When 
  

   Cieza 
  was 
  in 
  Pucara, 
  he 
  found 
  it 
  in 
  ruins 
  and 
  inhabited 
  by 
  a 
  few 
  

   Indians 
  under 
  Inca 
  rule. 
  Means 
  (1931, 
  p. 
  136) 
  states 
  that 
  good 
  

   arguments 
  exist 
  to 
  prove 
  that 
  Tiahuanaco 
  was 
  built 
  by 
  either 
  Aymara- 
  

   or 
  Quechua-spesikmg 
  peoples, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  problem 
  will 
  remain 
  un- 
  

   solved 
  until 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  relationship 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  languages 
  has 
  been 
  

   made. 
  

  

  The 
  cultures 
  which 
  followed 
  the 
  decline 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco 
  and 
  Pucara 
  

   are 
  still 
  relatively 
  unknown. 
  This 
  interval, 
  intermediate 
  between 
  

   Tiahuanaco 
  and 
  Inca, 
  has 
  been 
  called 
  the 
  "Chullpa 
  Period," 
  and, 
  

   although 
  many 
  chullpas 
  probably 
  were 
  built 
  before 
  the 
  arrival 
  of 
  the 
  

   Inca, 
  their 
  construction 
  was 
  not 
  confined 
  to 
  this 
  period. 
  6 
  They 
  have 
  

   also 
  been 
  reported 
  from 
  regions 
  outside 
  modern 
  Aymara 
  territory 
  

   (Means, 
  1931, 
  p. 
  201), 
  although 
  some 
  are 
  in 
  areas 
  said 
  by 
  Rivet 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  formerly 
  inhabited 
  by 
  Aymara-speakliig 
  peoples. 
  

  

  Chullpas 
  (pi. 
  101), 
  usually 
  located 
  on 
  tops 
  of 
  hills, 
  are 
  round 
  or 
  

   rectangular 
  towerlike 
  structures 
  with 
  sloping 
  or 
  straight 
  walls, 
  built 
  of 
  

   rough 
  or 
  dressed 
  stones, 
  adobe, 
  or 
  various 
  combinations 
  of 
  stone 
  and 
  

   adobe 
  (Tschopik, 
  M. 
  H., 
  Some 
  Notes, 
  n. 
  d.). 
  Within 
  or 
  below 
  the 
  

   tower 
  is 
  a 
  chamber 
  entered 
  by 
  a 
  small 
  door 
  which 
  almost 
  invariably 
  

   faces 
  east. 
  Occasionally, 
  there 
  are 
  two 
  floors, 
  but 
  more 
  often 
  only 
  

   one. 
  The 
  ceiling 
  of 
  the 
  chamber 
  may 
  be 
  corbeled 
  or, 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  

   very 
  small 
  chambers, 
  formed 
  by 
  a 
  single, 
  flat 
  stone. 
  In 
  the 
  former 
  

   type, 
  the 
  roof 
  is 
  either 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  stones 
  and 
  adobe 
  which 
  comprise 
  

   the 
  inner 
  core 
  and 
  corbeled 
  dome, 
  or 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  continuing 
  the 
  

   outer 
  veneer 
  to 
  cover 
  the 
  inner 
  core. 
  Generally, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  cornice. 
  

   These 
  structures 
  were 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  Aymara 
  as 
  burial 
  places 
  for 
  chiefs 
  

   and 
  important 
  persons. 
  (See 
  Death, 
  p. 
  551.) 
  Although 
  no 
  de- 
  

   scription 
  of 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  an 
  undisturbed 
  chullpa 
  exists, 
  these 
  tombs 
  

   appear 
  to 
  have 
  contained 
  clothing, 
  metal 
  ornaments, 
  pottery, 
  and 
  

   matting. 
  

  

  * 
  I 
  am 
  indebted 
  to 
  my 
  wife, 
  Marion 
  H. 
  Tschopik, 
  for 
  writing 
  the 
  archeological 
  summary. 
  (See 
  also 
  

   Bennett, 
  pp. 
  61-147, 
  this 
  volume.) 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  problem 
  is 
  complicated 
  by 
  chullpas 
  having 
  been 
  looted 
  since 
  the 
  Spanish 
  Conquest. 
  Therefore, 
  the 
  

   chronological 
  place 
  of 
  chullpas 
  must 
  rest 
  on 
  the 
  analysis 
  of 
  surface 
  sherds 
  until 
  stratigraphic 
  work 
  has 
  been 
  

   done. 
  

  

  