Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Scientists Virtually Reconstruct Magnificent Pre-Incan Temple
Gizmodo ^ | 12/12/2018 | George Dvorsky

Posted on 12/12/2018 8:59:55 PM PST by BenLurkin

The 1,500-year-old Pumapunku temple in western Bolivia is considered a crowning achievement of Mesoamerican architecture, yet no one knows what the original structure actually looked like.

Using historical data, 3D-printed pieces, and architectural software, archaeologist Alexei Vranich from UC Berkeley has created a virtual reconstruction of Pumapunku—an ancient Tiwanaku temple now in ruins. Archaeologists have studied the site for over 150 years, but it wasn’t immediately obvious how all the broken and scattered pieces belonged together. The surprisingly simple approach devised by Vranich is finally providing a glimpse into the structure’s original appearance.

Excitingly, the same method could be used to virtually reconstruct similar ruins....

First, some background on the structure. Pumapunku, which means “door of the puma,” was a temple designed and built by the pre-Incan Tiwanaku culture, who lived and thrived in what is now western Bolivia from 500 AD to 1,000 AD. Hundreds of years later, the Inca (1300-1570 AD) came across the Pumapunku ruins, deeming them important and worthy of restoration. And in fact, the Incas believed it was at Pumapunku that the world began. Inspired, the Incas attempted to integrate the style of the Tiwanaku stonework in their own architecture, as seen in structures at the capital city of Cusco and the “lost city” of Machu Picchu.

Indeed, the Incas had a right to be impressed—the Pumapunku temple was an advanced Mesoamerican architectural achievement. Spanish Conquistadors and others who visited the site during the 16th and 17th centuries described it as a “wondrous, though unfinished, building with gateways and windows carved from single blocks,” as Vranich wrote in his new paper. Pumapunku displayed a level of craftsmanship that was largely unparalleled in the pre-Columbian New World, and it’s often considered the architectural peak of Andean lithic technology prior to the arrival of the Europeans.

(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; History
KEYWORDS: bolivia; doorofthepuma; godsgravesglyphs; pumapunku; tiwanaku
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021 next last

1 posted on 12/12/2018 8:59:55 PM PST by BenLurkin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Have they started sacrificing peasants yet?


2 posted on 12/12/2018 9:03:56 PM PST by Dalberg-Acton
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Really cool. It’s hard to beat the pattern matching ability of the human brain when it comes to solving puzzles like this.


3 posted on 12/12/2018 9:04:48 PM PST by bigbob (Trust Trump. Trust the Plan.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

*ping*


4 posted on 12/12/2018 9:18:20 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Dalberg-Acton
Planned Parenthood is setting up a branch office as we speak.
5 posted on 12/12/2018 9:29:02 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Dalberg-Acton
Well...they don't call them peasants in there...


6 posted on 12/12/2018 9:32:47 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

ping


7 posted on 12/12/2018 11:09:09 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks BenLurkin. And when the Puma Punkuns got on stage and started pounding out that beat, everyone had a throbbing temple, then went out of their gourds.

8 posted on 12/12/2018 11:47:17 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

has the ACLU filed a separation of church and state case yet to suspend the funding of this project?


9 posted on 12/13/2018 1:58:30 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Denounce DUAC - The Democrats Un-American Activists Committtee)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

No Pix No Clicks


10 posted on 12/13/2018 4:36:59 AM PST by mosesdapoet (mosesdapoet aka L,J,Keslin posting here for the record)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Bolivia isn’t in Meso-America and neither were the Incas. hint: Meso-America is in North America. These people weren’t anywhere near Mexico and the civilizations there. I like the recreations of these very interesting cultures, thanks.

PS - Human sacrifice was an aspect of cultures all over the world. It was pretty common in northern Europe and in the ancient Chinese civilizations.


11 posted on 12/13/2018 4:55:07 AM PST by Varda
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: a fool in paradise

Hey, the temple was separated into 140 pieces, what more do you want?


12 posted on 12/13/2018 5:00:07 AM PST by Waverunner (I'd like to welcome our new overlords, say hello to my little friend)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

I see that there are two "H"s inside. Apparently she has wanted to live forever. (Maybe she wrote the very first song.)

13 posted on 12/13/2018 5:14:15 AM PST by Albion Wilde ("The word 'racist' is used to describe 'every Republican that's winning'" --Donald Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Varda

Bolivia isn’t in Meso-America and neither were the Incas. hint: Meso-America is in North America.


I think you’re a little confused.

Mesoamerica was normally considered to be southern Mexico and down through Central America to the top of South America.

The Incas were considered a Mesoamerican culture and ranged from Colombia at the top of South America, down the west coast to the bottom of Chile.

They were definitely in Bolivia.


14 posted on 12/13/2018 7:36:56 AM PST by chaosagent (Remember, no matter how you slice it, forbidden fruit still tastes the sweetest!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: chaosagent

Not among the archaeologists I knew (or was taught by).


15 posted on 12/13/2018 7:38:41 AM PST by Varda
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: a fool in paradise
Yeah, but the Andean CLU filed a countersuit, claiming it was required to begin.

16 posted on 12/13/2018 8:40:35 AM PST by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

So, was it the Adidas who destroyed the Puma temple?


17 posted on 12/13/2018 11:14:16 AM PST by colorado tanker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: colorado tanker
Reekbok, or maybe the neighboring town, Hey Bobba Reebok.

18 posted on 12/13/2018 4:04:07 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Varda

Maybe you needed better teachers.

“Mesoamerica – means, “middle America” – Mesoamerica extends from south-central Mexico southeastward to include the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and the Pacific coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica down to the Gulf of Nicoya.”

“The Inca lived in the Andes Mountains in South America. Their range stretched from southern Chile through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador and into southern Colombia.

So yes, the Incas were in Bolivia.


19 posted on 12/13/2018 8:57:17 PM PST by chaosagent (Remember, no matter how you slice it, forbidden fruit still tastes the sweetest!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: chaosagent

You made a quote, where’s the link to the quote?


20 posted on 12/14/2018 4:34:05 AM PST by Varda
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson