This document provides information on the major pre-Columbian civilizations that flourished in Peru and Bolivia between approximately 1000 BCE to 900 CE. It includes maps and images showing the locations of sites belonging to the Chiripa, Tiwanaku, Wari, and other cultures. Architectural structures, sculptures, and artifacts from these societies are photographed and described. The document outlines the rise and spread of the Tiwanaku and Wari states during the Middle Horizon period across the Andes highlands and coast.

1. Also spelled “Tiahuanaco” and “Huari”
1

2. Left: Map of Peru with major sites labeled
Right: Map showing location of Early Horizon to Early Intermediate period (c.
1000 BCE – 300 CE) sites around Lake Titicaca with monumental sculpture
(Yayamama & Pucara cultural traditions)
2

3. Chiripa, South Shore of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, c. 900 – 100 BCE
Top Left: Plan and cross-section of Structure 2
Bottom Right: Plan of site, with structures arranged around a central sunken
court
3

4. Yayamama style relief from Copacabana, Southern shore of Lake Titicaca,
Bolivia, Early Horizon, c. 1000 – 200 BCE, height = 15 ¾ in. (40 cm)
4

5. Arapa-Thunderbolt stela, Southern Highlands, c. 200 BCE – 300 CE,
Reconstructed length = 18 7/8 ft. (5 ¾ m)
Left: Photograph of portion of stela from town of Arapa
Right: Reconstruction drawing of front & back of stela from portions in Arapa
and Tiwanaku
5

6. Pukará style stone sculptures, Early Intermediate Period, c. 200 BCE – 300
CE
6

7. Waru Waru (Raised Field) Agriculture, Bolivian Altiplano near Lake Titicaca
7

8. Aerial photograph of the central ceremonial precinct of Tiwanaku, Early
Intermediate Period to Middle Horizon, c. 400 – 800 CE
Visible are the Akapana (right), Semi-Subterranean Court (top left),
Kalasasaya (center left), and Putuni (bottom)
8

9. View across the Semi-Subterranean Court to the Kalasasaya.
9

10. Heads tenoned into the wall of the Semi-Subterranean Court
10

11. Tiwanaku masonry
Left: Detail of reconstructed Kalasasaya wall
Right: Monoliths with missing masonry
11

12. Ponce Monolith, Kalasasaya, Tiwanaku, Early Intermediate Period to Middle
Horizon, c. 400 – 800 CE, Height = 7 ft. (2.1 m)
12

13. Left: Tiwanaku-style snuff tablet, wood
Right: Tiwanaku-style kero (beaker), wood
13

14. Bennett Monolith, originally located in the Semi-Subterranean Court, Early
Intermediate Period to Middle Horizon, c. 400 – 800 CE, Height = 24 ft. (7.3 m)
Left: photo of monolith
Right: Rollout drawing of incised designs
14

15. Rollout drawing of central portion of incised designs on Bennett Monolith
15

16. Tiwanaku-style tapestry tunic, Middle Horizon, c. 400 – 800 CE
16

17. Gate of the Sun, Kalasasaya, Tiwanaku, Early Intermediate Period to Middle
Horizon, c. 400 – 800 CE, Height = 9.8 ft. (3 m)
17

18. Drawings of the central staff deity (right) and attendant figures (left) from the
Gate of the Sun, Tiwanaku
18

19. Gate of the Sun, detail of central staff deity
19

20. Back of the Gateway of the Sun
20

21. Akapana, Tiwanaku, Early Intermediate Period to Middle Horizon, c. 400 – 800
CE
Top Left: Reconstruction of the terraced pyramid
Bottom Left: Photo showing reconstructed portion of terrace walls
Right: Contoured plan showing current shape of the mound
21

22. Akapana, Tiwanaku
Top Left: Excavated wall foundations showing the presence of rooms at the
upper levels of the pyramid
Bottom Left: Detail photo showing slots in the masonry for bronze brackets
Right: Example of the stone-lined water channels running through the terraces
22

23. Right: Chachapuma sculpture, recovered from the western staircase of the
Akapana
23

24. Satellite photo of Tiwanaku; the Akapana and Kalasasaya are found at the top
right, the Pumapunku is found to the lower left.
24

25. Architectural stones carved with niches and windows, Pumapunku, Tiwanaku
25

26. Map of Peru showing Middle Horizon sites with Wari architecture (filled
squares) and artifacts (outlined squares)
26

27. City of Huari, Ayacucho Valley, Central Highlands of Peru, Middle Horizon, c.
400 – 900 CE
27

28. Top Left: Photo of D-Shaped structure from Vegachayoq Moqo sector of the
city of Huari, diameter = 20 m (66 ft.)
Bottom Right: Axonometric reconstruction drawing of the Vegachayoq Moqo
sector
28

29. Wari aqueduct at Rumicolca, near Pikillacta, Southern Highlands of Peru
29

30. Pikillacta, a provincial Wari administrative center in the Southern Highlands of
Peru, Middle Horizon, c. 500 – 900 CE, 1.04 x .69 mi. (1.68 x 1.12 km)
Left: Plan of site
Right: Aerial photo of ruins
30

31. Pikillacta
Top Left: Detail of masonry
Top Right: View of a surviving wall
Bottom Left: View looking along a road through the site
31

32. Left: Cached offering from Pikillacta with copper spike, spondylus shells, and
turquoise figurines
Right: Wari turquoise figurine, Middle Horizon, c. 500 – 900 CE, height = 1 ¼
in. (3.2 cm)
32