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 ...
Have they started sacrificing peasants yet?
Really cool. It’s hard to beat the pattern matching ability of the human brain when it comes to solving puzzles like this.
*ping*
ping
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.
has the ACLU filed a separation of church and state case yet to suspend the funding of this project?
No Pix No Clicks
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.
Hey, the temple was separated into 140 pieces, what more do you want?
I see that there are two "H"s inside. Apparently she has wanted to live forever. (Maybe she wrote the very first song.)
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.
Not among the archaeologists I knew (or was taught by).
Yeah, but the Andean CLU filed a countersuit, claiming it was required to begin.
So, was it the Adidas who destroyed the Puma temple?
Reekbok, or maybe the neighboring town, Hey Bobba Reebok.
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.
You made a quote, where’s the link to the quote?
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