Posted on 06/30/2025 7:06:10 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
A vast stone temple built 1,000 years ago by one of South America's most powerful civilizations has been uncovered in the Andes.
Archaeologists discovered the temple, known as Palaspata, atop a ridge in the remote highlands southeast of Lake Titicaca, near the small community of Ocotavi in western Bolivia.
The large structure was the craftsmanship of the Tiwanaku civilization, which left a mark on the world with impressive stone structures, advanced irrigation systems, and unique art and pottery before vanishing around 1000AD.
Covering an area roughly the size of a city block, the site measures approximately 410 feet long by 476 feet wide.
It features 15 rectangular enclosures arranged around a central courtyard, which appears to align with the solar equinox, a time when the sun rises directly over the equator and is often marked by key ritual dates in ancient cultures.
The team believes more than 20,000 people may have lived here, as some buildings were constructed with stones weighing over 100 tons, showing highly organized labor and planning...
Carbon dating revealed the site was most active between AD 630 and 950, during the period when the Tiwanaku civilization expanded its influence into the eastern valleys...
The temple's surface was scattered with fragments of keru cups, used for drinking chicha, a traditional maize beer, during agricultural feasts and celebrations, indicating its role as a key trade hub, according to Capriles...
Nearby, at a smaller archaeological site called Ocotavi 1, researchers uncovered homes, tools, animal bones and human burials with skull shaping, a sign of high status in Andean culture.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Sam Kinison would agree.
Yeah... grain storage, or a village where extended families shared one of those nice rectangles around the common outer wall, or maybe the public market. That said, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a shrine area in a public place.
“That said, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a shrine area in a public place.”
I’m sure that a statue or shrine in the park would not out of place at all.
:^)
Lake Titicaca is Thr Great Cornholio’s birthplace.
Lake Titicaca, Lake Titicaca,
It's between Bolivia and Peru.
Lake Titicaca, yes, Lake Titicaca,
With waters tranquil and blue.
Oh, Lake Titicaca, yes, Lake Titicaca.
Why do we sing of its fame?
Lake Titicaca, yes, Lake Titicaca,
Cause we really like saying its name!
TITICACA!
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