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81-519: The site was first recorded in written history in 1549 by Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León while searching for the southern Inca capital of Qullasuyu . Jesuit chronicler of Peru Bernabé Cobo reported that Tiwanaku's name once was taypiqala , which is Aymara meaning "stone in the center", alluding to the belief that it lay at the center of the world. The name by which Tiwanaku was known to its inhabitants may have been lost as they had no written language. Heggarty and Beresford-Jones suggest that

162-607: A Spondylus and Strombus shells, which were female and male symbols, respectively. This representation indicated how the Staff-God wielded authority to maintain social harmony and the Andean ideal of gender complementarity . Another Early Horizon sculpted stone, the Raimondi Stele , is perhaps the most popular representation and depicted the Staff-God as a sky or lightning god plunging down to earth. Representations of

243-700: A lapis lazuli and ceramic figurines, incense burners and a ceremonial medallion from the lake floor. The artifacts are representative of the lavishness of the ceremonies and the Tiwanaku culture. When a topographical map of the site was created in 2016 by the use of a drone, a "set of hitherto unknown structures" was revealed. These structures spanned over 411 hectares, and included a stone temple and about one hundred circular or rectangular structures of vast dimensions, which were possibly domestic units. Between 2005 and 2007 various types of aerial surveillance methods were used by UNESCO to create an aerial picture of

324-522: A "half Andean Cross "-shaped structure that is 257 m wide, 197 m broad at its maximum, and 16.5 m tall. At its center appears to have been a sunken court. This was nearly destroyed by a deep looters excavation that extends from the center of this structure to its eastern side. Material from the looter's excavation was dumped off the eastern side of the Akapana. A staircase is present on its western side. Possible residential complexes might have occupied both

405-672: A Staff God was found in 2003 on some broken gourd fragments in a burial site in the Pativilca River Valley ( Norte Chico region) and carbon dated to 2250 BCE. This makes it the oldest religious icon to be found in the Americas. There are scholars who maintain that the Wari-Tiwanaku Staff God is the forerunner of the Incan principal gods, Sun, Moon, and Thunder. It served as the primary religious icon of

486-679: A more secular approach into historical study. According to John Tosh , "From the High Middle Ages (c.1000–1300) onwards, the written word survives in greater abundance than any other source for Western history." Western historians developed methods comparable to modern historiographic research in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and Germany, where they began investigating these source materials to write histories of their past. Many of these histories had strong ideological and political ties to their historical narratives. In

567-523: A more generalized account built on the more specific research found in the first two types of sources. Staff God In "Southern Andean Iconographic Series" the Staff God pose is a religious icon and a standardized pose reminiscent in its way of the standardized poses in Byzantine art . The pose shows a front-facing human or human-like figure with vertical attributes, one in each hand. There

648-589: A temple and terraced mound. Evidence of similar types of cranial vault modification in burials between the Omo site and the main site of Tiwanaku is also being used for this argument. Today Tiwanaku has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , administered by the Bolivian government. Recently, the Department of Archaeology of Bolivia (DINAR, directed by Javier Escalante) has been conducting excavations on

729-471: Is 5 m tall. Identical 20-meter-wide projections extend 27.6 meters north and south from the northeast and southeast corners of the Pumapunku. Walled and unwalled courts and an esplanade are associated with this structure. A prominent feature of the Pumapunku is a large stone terrace; it is 6.75 by 38.72 meters in dimension and paved with large stone blocks. It is called the " Plataforma Lítica " and contains

810-600: Is a large courtyard more than 300 feet long, outlined by a high gateway. It is located to the north of the Akapana and west of the Semi-Subterranean Temple. Within the courtyard is where explorers found the Gateway of the Sun. Since the late 20th century, researchers have theorized that this was not the gateway's original location. Near the courtyard is the Semi-Subterranean Temple; a square sunken courtyard that

891-709: Is disagreement concerning exactly when prehistory becomes history, and when proto-writing became "true writing". However, invention of the first writing systems is roughly contemporary with the beginning of the Bronze Age in the late Neolithic of the late 4th millennium BCE . The Sumerian archaic cuneiform script and the Egyptian hieroglyphs are generally considered the earliest writing systems, both emerging out of their ancestral proto-literate symbol systems from 3400 to 3200 BCE, with earliest coherent texts from about 2600 BCE . The earliest chronologies date back to

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972-515: Is for the Pythagorean Ratio. This idea calls for right triangles at a ratio of five to four to three used in the gateways to measure all parts. Lastly, Protzen and Nair argue that Tiwanaku had a system set for individual elements dependent on context and composition. This is shown in the construction of similar gateways ranging from diminutive to monumental size, proving that scaling factors did not affect proportion. With each added element,

1053-695: Is no uniform representation of a "Staff God". Dozens of variations of "Staff Gods" exist. Some scholars think that some of these personages are possible depictions of Viracocha or Thunupa (the Aymara weather god). However, there is little evidence to support the idea that these front-facing figures do represent deities. Some researchers point to their attributes and spatial organization which seem to indicate that they are ritual practitioners. Some attributes in their hands were identified as Qirus (Andean ritual cups), Snuff trays (used in ceremonial contexts) and Spear-throwers . The "rays" radiating or sprouting out of

1134-518: Is one of the earliest mentions of "pigtail of Brahmin boys". These poems also allude to historical incidents, ancient Tamil kings, the effect of war on loved ones and households. The Pattinappalai poem in the Ten Idylls group, for example, paints a description of the Chola capital, the king Karikala , the life in a harbor city with ships and merchandise for seafaring trade, the dance troupes,

1215-502: Is one of the few documents containing material relating to the Nāga and Yakkha peoples , indigenous inhabitants of Lanka prior to the legendary arrival of Prince Vijaya from Singha Pura of Kalinga. The Sangam literature offers a window into some aspects of the ancient South Indian culture, secular and religious beliefs, and the people. For example, in the Sangam era Ainkurunuru poem 202

1296-486: Is unique for its north-south rather than east-west axis. The walls are covered with tenon heads of many different styles, suggesting that the structure was reused for different purposes over time. It was built with walls of sandstone pillars and smaller blocks of Ashlar masonry. The largest stone block in the Kalasasaya is estimated to weigh 26.95 metric tons. Within many of the site's structures are impressive gateways;

1377-615: The Culavamsa "Lesser Chronicle", compiled by Sinhala monks, covers the period from the 4th century to the British takeover of Sri Lanka in 1815. The Culavamsa was compiled by a number of authors of different time periods. The combined work, sometimes referred to collectively as the Mahavamsa , provides a continuous historical record of over two millennia, and is considered one of the world's longest unbroken historical accounts. It

1458-463: The Puquina language is most likely to have been the language of Tiwanaku. The dating of the site has been significantly refined over the last century. From 1910 to 1945, Arthur Posnansky maintained that the site was 11,000–17,000 years old based on comparisons to geological eras and archaeoastronomy . Beginning in the 1970s, Carlos Ponce Sanginés proposed the site was first occupied around 1580 BC,

1539-499: The Wari culture . The Wari and Tiwanaku civilizations shared the same iconography, referred to as the "Southern Andean Iconographic Series". The relationship between the two civilizations is presumed to be trade based or military based. The Wari aren't the only other civilization that Tiwanaku could have had contact with. Inca cities also contained similar types of architecture Infrastructure seen in Tiwanaku. From this it can be expected that

1620-423: The historical method . For broader world history , recorded history begins with the accounts of the ancient world around the 4th millennium BCE, and it coincides with the invention of writing . For some geographic regions or cultures , written history is limited to a relatively recent period in human history because of the limited use of written records. Moreover, human cultures do not always record all of

1701-578: The suka kollus , accurate dating of the civilization's growth and influence, and evidence for a drought-based collapse of the Tiwanaku civilization. Archaeologists such as Paul Goldstein have argued that the Tiwanaku empire ranged outside of the altiplano area and into the Moquegua Valley in Peru. Excavations at Omo settlements show signs of similar architecture characteristic of Tiwanaku, such as

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1782-575: The "father of history" composing his The Histories from the 450s to the 420s BCE. However, his contemporary Thucydides (c. 460 BCE – c. 400 BCE) is credited with having first approached history with a well-developed historical method in his work the History of the Peloponnesian War . Thucydides, unlike Herodotus, regarded history as being the product of the choices and actions of human beings, and looked at cause and effect, rather than as

1863-501: The 2000s this was done using analogue recording methods such as cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes . With the onset of new technologies, there are now digital recordings , which may be recorded to compact disks. Nevertheless, historical record and interpretation often relies heavily on written records, partially because it dominates the extant historical materials, and partially because historians are used to communicating and researching in that medium. The historical method comprises

1944-403: The 20th century, academic historians began focusing less on epic nationalistic narratives, which often tended to glorify the nation or great men , to attempt more objective and complex analyses of social and intellectual forces. A major trend of historical methodology in the 20th century was a tendency to treat history more as a social science rather than as an art , which traditionally had been

2025-474: The Akapana Gate, have unique detail and demonstrate high skill in stone-cutting. This reveals a knowledge of descriptive geometry . The regularity of elements suggests they are part of a system of proportions. Many theories for the skill of Tiwanaku's architectural construction have been proposed. One is that they used a luk’ a, which is a standard measurement of about sixty centimeters. Another argument

2106-415: The Akapana, made of andesite , is estimated to weigh 65.7 tons . Tenon stone blocks in the form of puma and human heads stud the upper terraces. The Akapana East was built on the eastern side of early Tiwanaku. Later it was considered a boundary between the ceremonial center and the urban area. It was made of a thick, prepared floor of sand and clay, which supported a group of buildings. Yellow and red clay

2187-629: The Inca took some inspiration from the city of Tiwanaku and other early civilizations in the Andean basin. The structures that have been excavated by researchers at Tiwanaku include the terraced platform mound Akapana , Akapana East, and Pumapunku stepped platforms, the Kalasasaya , the Kantatallita, the Kheri Kala, and Putuni enclosures, and the Semi-Subterranean Temple. The Akapana is

2268-405: The Kalasasaya are almost all reconstructed. The reconstruction was not sufficiently based on evidence. The reconstruction does not have as high quality of stonework as was present in Tiwanaku. Early visitors compared Kalasasaya to Englands Stonehenge . Ephraim Squier called it "American Stonehenge". Before the reconstruction, it had more of a "Stonehenge"-like appearance as the filler stones between

2349-592: The Puma Punku. Alan Kolata of the University of Chicago conducted research at Tiwanaku in the late 1900s from which he made descriptions of the City and its structure and culture in his book The Tiwanaku. He later published Valley of The Spirits which described more aspects of Tiwanaku culture such as astrology and mythology. John Wayne Janusek of Vanderbilt University spent time in the late 1900s as well at

2430-418: The Tiwanaku, have a complex belief system similar to the cosmology of several other Andean civilizations. They believe in the existence of three spaces: Arajpacha, the upper world; Akapacha, the middle or inner world; and Manqhaoacha, the lower world. Often associated with the cosmos and Milky Way, the upper world is considered to be where celestial beings live. The middle world is where all living things are, and

2511-516: The advancement of technology. History can now be recorded through photography , audio recordings , and video recordings . More recently, Internet archives have been saving copies of webpages, documenting the history of the Internet . Other methods of collecting historical information have also accompanied the change in technologies; for example, since at least the 20th century, attempts have been made to preserve oral history by recording it. Until

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2592-420: The architecture and stonework seen at Tiwanaku. His work has played a huge role in creating potential reconstructions of what many of the structures look like, especially the puma punku. Recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using

2673-612: The artifacts he will find, on behalf of Meiggs, to Washington's Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History in New York . Ber’s expedition was cut short by the violent hostility of the local population, instigated by the Catholic parish priest, but von Grumbkow’s early pictures survive. In the 1960s, the Bolivian government initiated an effort to restore the site and reconstruct part of it. The walls of

2754-516: The bards and artists, the worship of the Hindu god Murugan and the monasteries of Buddhism and Jainism. Indica is an account of Mauryan India by the Greek writer Megasthenes . The original book is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by Diodorus Siculus , Strabo ( Geographica ), Pliny , and Arrian ( Indica ). In

2835-576: The case. French historians associated with the Annales School introduced quantitative history, using raw data to track the lives of typical individuals, and were prominent in the establishment of cultural history. The Zuo zhuan , attributed to Zuo Qiuming in the 5th century BCE covers the period from 722 to 468 BCE in a narrative form. The Book of Documents is one of the Five Classics of Chinese classic texts and one of

2916-568: The earliest civilizations of Early Dynastic Period of Egypt , Mesopotamia and the Sumerians , which emerged independently of each other from roughly 3500 BCE. Earliest recorded history, which varies greatly in quality and reliability, deals with Pharaohs and their reigns , as preserved by ancient Egyptians . Much of the earliest recorded history was re-discovered relatively recently due to archaeological dig sites findings. A number of different traditions have developed in different parts of

2997-584: The earliest narratives of China. The Spring and Autumn Annals , the official chronicle of the State of Lu covering the period from 722 to 481 BCE, is arranged on annalistic principles. It is traditionally attributed to Confucius (551–479 BCE). Zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical compilation of sporadic materials on the Warring States period compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. Sima Qian (around 100 BCE)

3078-600: The entire Peruvian Andes, particularly during the Early Horizon (900-200 BC) and beyond. The worship of Staff Gods spread to the Central Andes during the Middle Horizon (600-1000 CE) This is supported by excavated Middle Horizon artifacts that resembled the Staff-God. The staff god was a basic iconography shared by the cultures of pre-Columbian Peru, particularly those occupying the northern coast and

3159-420: The faces of Tiwanaku front-facing figures appear to have approximately the value of an aureole . They may represent flows and distribution of energy. At the Wari site of Conchopata a vessel was found which shows a Staff God in which the "rays" can be interpreted as a Anadenanthera colubrina tree sprouting from its head whereas the circular elements do represent its seed pods. The oldest known depiction of

3240-427: The gods and spirits. They were places of worship and rituals that helped unify Andean peoples through shared symbols and pilgrimage destinations. Tiwanaku became a center of pre-Columbian religious ceremonies for both the general public and elites. For example, human sacrifice was used in several pre-Columbian civilizations to appease a god in exchange for good fortune. Excavations of the Akapana at Tiwanaku revealed

3321-497: The individual pieces were shifted to fit together. As the population grew, occupational niches developed, and people began to specialize in certain skills. There was an increase in artisans, who worked in pottery, jewelry, and textiles. Like the later Inca, the Tiwanaku had few commercial or market institutions. Instead, the culture relied on elite redistribution. That is, the elites of the state controlled essentially all economic output but were expected to provide each commoner with all

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3402-449: The information which is considered relevant by later historians, such as the full impact of natural disasters or the names of individuals. Recorded history for particular types of information is therefore limited based on the types of records kept. Because of this, recorded history in different contexts may refer to different periods of time depending on the topic. The interpretation of recorded history often relies on historical method , or

3483-513: The lack of ceramic styles from earlier periods. Tiwanaku began its steady growth in the early centuries of the first millennium AD. From approximately 375 to 700 AD, this Andean city grew to significance. At its height, the city of Tiwanaku spanned an area of roughly 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) and had a population greater than 10,000 individuals. The growth of the city was due to its complex agropastoral economy, supported by trade. The site appeared to have collapsed around 1000 AD, however

3564-406: The large stone pillars were all looted. As noted, the Gateway of the Sun, now in the Kalasasaya, is believed to have been moved from its original location. Modern, academically sound archaeological excavations were performed from 1978 through the 1990s by University of Chicago anthropologist Alan Kolata and his Bolivian counterpart, Oswaldo Rivera. Among their contributions are the rediscovery of

3645-496: The largest stone block found in the Tiwanaku site. According to Ponce Sangines, the block is estimated to weigh 131 metric tonnes. The second-largest stone block found within the Pumapunku is estimated to be 85 metric tonnes. Scattered around the site of the Puma Punku are various types of cut stones. Due to the complexity of the stonework the site is often cited by conspiracy theorists to be a site of ancient alien intervention. These claims are entirely unsubstantiated. The Kalasasaya

3726-460: The lower world is where life itself is inverted. As the site has suffered from looting and amateur excavations since shortly after Tiwanaku's fall, archeologists must attempt to interpret it with the understanding that materials have been jumbled and destroyed. This destruction continued during the Spanish conquest and colonial period, and during 19th century and the early 20th century. Other damage

3807-414: The mountains and Lake Titicaca. The lake level of Lake Titicaca has fluctuated significantly over time. The spiritual importance and location of the lake contributed to the religious significance of Tiwanaku. In the Tiwanaku worldview, Lake Titicaca is the spiritual birthplace of their cosmic beliefs. According to Incan mythology, Lake Titicaca is the birthplace of Viracocha , who was responsible for creating

3888-411: The northeast and southeast corners of this structure. Originally, the Akapana was thought to have been developed from a modified hill. Twenty-first-century studies have shown that it is an entirely man-made earthen mound , faced with a mixture of large and small stone blocks. The dirt comprising Akapana appears to have been excavated from the "moat" that surrounds the site. The largest stone block within

3969-432: The object of study." Historians use other types of sources to understand history as well. Secondary sources are written accounts of history based upon the evidence from primary sources. These are sources which, usually, are accounts, works, or research that analyse, assimilate, evaluate, interpret, and/or synthesize primary sources. Tertiary sources are compilations based upon primary and secondary sources and often tell

4050-474: The ones of monumental scale are placed on artificial mounds, platforms, or sunken courts. One gateway shows the iconography of a front-facing figure in Staff God pose. This iconography also is used on some oversized vessels, indicating an importance to the culture. The iconography of the Gateway of the Sun called Southern Andean Iconographic Series can be seen on several stone sculptures, Qirus , snuff trays and other Tiwanaku artifacts. The unique carvings on

4131-481: The period during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have noted its existence in their own writings. More complete writing systems were preceded by proto-writing . Early examples are the Jiahu symbols ( c.  6600 BCE ), Vinča signs ( c.  5300 BCE ), early Indus script ( c.  3500 BCE ) and Nsibidi script ( c.  before 500 CE ). There

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4212-582: The period of the site, certain buildings changed purposes, causing a mix of artifacts found today. Detailed study of Tiwanaku began on a small scale in the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1860s, Ephraim George Squier visited the ruins and later published maps and sketches completed during his visit. German geologist Alphons Stübel spent nine days in Tiwanaku in 1876, creating a map of the site based on careful measurements. He also made sketches and created paper impressions of carvings and other architectural features. A book containing major photographic documentation

4293-530: The preface to his book, the Muqaddimah (1377), the Arab historian and early sociologist , Ibn Khaldun , warned of seven mistakes that he thought that historians regularly committed. In this criticism, he approached the past as strange and in need of interpretation. Ibn Khaldun often criticised "idle superstition and uncritical acceptance of historical data." As a result, he introduced a scientific method to

4374-620: The prestigious Ban family of the Eastern Han dynasty era. In Sri Lanka , the oldest historical text is the Mahavamsa ( c. 5th century CE). Buddhist monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya maintained chronicles of Sri Lankan history starting from the 3rd century BCE. These annals were combined and compiled into a single document in the 5th century by the Mahanama of Anuradhapura while Dhatusena of Anuradhapura

4455-462: The reasoning behind this is still open to debate. Recent studies by geologist Elliott Arnold of the University of Pittsburgh have shown evidence of a greater amount of aridity in the region around the time of collapse. A drought in the region would have affected local systems of agriculture and likely played a role in the collapse of Tiwanaku. The people of Tiwanaku held a tight relationship with

4536-570: The remains of sacrificial dedications of humans and camelids. Researchers speculate that the Akapana may also have been used as an astronomical observatory. It was constructed so that it was aligned with the peak of Quimsachata , providing a view of the rotation of the Milky Way from the southern pole. Other structures like Kalasasaya are positioned to provide optimal views of the sunrise on the Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Winter Solstice. Although

4617-497: The residential area outside the monumental core, has provoked controversy amongst local archaeologists. The program was directed by Gary Urton , of Harvard, who was an expert on quipus , and Alexei Vranich of the University of Pennsylvania . The controversy was over allowing a team of untrained students to work on the site, even under professional supervision. It was so important that only certified professional archaeologists with documented funding were allowed access. The controversy

4698-399: The resources needed to perform his or her function. Selected occupations include agriculturists, herders, pastoralists, etc. Such separation of occupations was accompanied by hierarchical stratification within the state. Some authors believe that the elites of Tiwanaku lived inside four walls that were surrounded by a moat. This theory is called "Tiwanaku moat theory". This moat, some believe,

4779-618: The result of divine intervention. History developed as a popular form of literature in later Greek and Roman societies in the works of Polybius , Tacitus and others. Saint Augustine was influential in Christian and Western thought at the beginning of the medieval period. Through the Medieval and Renaissance periods, history was often studied through a sacred or religious perspective. Around 1800, German philosopher and historian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel brought philosophy and

4860-583: The set of techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write accounts of the past. The question of what constitutes history, and whether there is an effective method for interpreting recorded history, is raised in the philosophy of history as a question of epistemology . The study of different historical methods is known as historiography , which focuses on examining how different interpreters of recorded history create different interpretations of historical evidence. Prehistory traditionally refers to

4941-453: The site of Tiwanaku recording findings of the excavations going on. In 2008 he published Ancient Tiwanaku which described his findings on the architecture, agriculture and other aspects of Tiwanaku life. Jean-Pierre Protzen was an architecture professor of the University of California at Berkeley and spent much of his life studying the architecture of Tiwanaku. In 2013, he published The Stones of Tiahuanaco which gives great descriptions of

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5022-467: The site's oldest radiocarbon date. This date is still seen in some publications and museums in Bolivia. Since the 1980s, researchers have recognized this date as unreliable, leading to the consensus that the site is no older than 200 or 300 BC. More recently, a statistical assessment of reliable radiocarbon dates estimates that the site was founded around AD 110 (50–170, 68% probability), a date supported by

5103-486: The site. Lidar, aerial photography, drones, and terrestrial laser scanning were all used in this process. Data concluded from this research includes topographical maps that show the principal structures at the site along with mapping of multiple structures in the Mollo Kuntu area. Over 300 million data points were placed from these methods and have helped redefine main structures that have not fully been excavated such as

5184-425: The southern highland staff god did not only carry motifs but were also presented with accompanying consorts in the form of deities painted on textiles used to decorate temple walls or ceramic vessels. The Staff God has one of the most important iconographical elements in central Andean archaeology and this is prominent in both portable and fixed art using different media such as stone, textile, and ceramic. A form of

5265-405: The southern highlands. This is seen in the stylistic uniformity of the icons and representations, which suggested widespread adherence. There were varying depictions of the Staff-God among these Andean cultures. However, it was often portrayed as a deity in apotheosis , with hands always holding instruments of power. For instance, an artifact found at Chavin de Huantar showed the deity holding

5346-423: The span of time before recorded history, ending with the invention of writing systems . Prehistory refers to the past in an area where no written records exist, or where the writing of a culture is not understood. Protohistory refers to the transition period between prehistory and history, after the advent of literacy in a society but before the writings of the first historians . Protohistory may also refer to

5427-461: The staff god, for example, takes a central role in the Sun Gate of the Tiwanaku culture, a single-stone monolith. Tunics and ceramics from both the Tiwanaku and Wari cultures of the Middle Horizon period showcase a similar god. Another example is the giant offering jars found at Qunchupata . They were painted with the Staff-God's image, one that bears resemblance to the god's depiction at the back of

5508-464: The study of history, and he often referred to it as his "new science". His historical method also laid the groundwork for the observation of the role of state , communication , propaganda and systematic bias in history, and he is thus considered to be the "father of historiography" or the "father of the philosophy of history". While recorded history begins with the invention of writing, over time new ways of recording history have come along with

5589-581: The sun, moon, people, and the cosmos. In the Kalasasaya at Tiwanaku, carved atop a monolith known as the Gate of the Sun , is a front-facing figure holding a spear-thrower and snuff. Some speculate that this is a representation of Viracocha. However, it is also possible that this figure represents a deity that the Aymara refer to as “Tunuupa” who, like Viracocha, is associated with legends of creation and destruction. The Aymara , who are thought to be descendants of

5670-607: The symbolic and functional value of these monuments can only be speculated upon, the Tiwanaku were able to study and interpret the positions of the sun, moon, Milky Way and other celestial bodies well enough to give them a significant role in their architecture. Aymara legends place Tiwanaku at the center of the universe, probably because of the importance of its geographical location. The Tiwanaku were highly aware of their natural surroundings and would use them and their understanding of astronomy as reference points in their architectural plans. The most significant landmarks in Tiwanaku are

5751-520: The techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write history . Primary sources are first-hand evidence of history (usually written, but sometimes captured in other mediums) made at the time of an event by a present person. Historians think of those sources as the closest to the origin of the information or idea under study. These types of sources can provide researchers with, as Dalton and Charnigo put it, "direct, unmediated information about

5832-448: The terraced platform mound Akapana. The Proyecto Arqueologico Pumapunku-Akapana (Pumapunku-Akapana Archaeological Project, PAPA) run by the University of Pennsylvania , has been excavating in the area surrounding the terraced platform mound for the past few years, and also conducting Ground Penetrating Radar surveys of the area. In former years, an archaeological field school offered through Harvard 's Summer School Program, conducted in

5913-544: The top of the Gate of the sun depict animals and other beings. Some have claimed that the symbolism represents a calendar system unique to the people of Tiwanaku, although there is no definitive evidence that this theory is correct. The Gateway of the Sun and others located at Pumapunku are not complete. They are missing part of a typical recessed frame known as a chambranle , which typically have sockets for clamps to support later additions. These architectural examples, as well as

5994-427: The world as to how to interpret these ancient accounts. Dionysius of Halicarnassus knew of seven predecessors of Herodotus , including Hellanicus of Lesbos , Xanthus of Lydia and Hecataeus of Miletus . He described their works as simple, unadorned accounts of their own and other cities and people, Greek or foreign, including popular legends. Herodotus (484 BCE – c. 425 BCE) has generally been acclaimed as

6075-602: Was charged with nationalistic and political undertones. The Harvard field school lasted for three years, beginning in 2004 and ending in 2007. The project was not renewed in subsequent years, nor was permission sought to do so. In 2009 state-sponsored restoration work on Akapana was halted due to a complaint from UNESCO . The restoration had consisted of facing the platform mound with adobe , although researchers had not established this as appropriate. In 2013, marine archaeologists exploring Lake Titicaca's Khoa reef discovered an ancient ceremonial site and lifted artifacts such as

6156-417: Was committed by people quarrying stone for building and railroad construction, and target practice by military personnel. No standing buildings have survived at the modern site. Only public, non-domestic foundations remain, with poorly reconstructed walls. The ashlar blocks used in many of these structures were mass-produced in similar styles so that they could possibly be used for multiple purposes. Throughout

6237-425: Was published in 1892 by engineer Georg von Grumbkow, With commentary by archaeologist Max Uhle , this was the first in-depth scientific account of the ruins. Von Grumbkow had first visited Tiwanaku between the end of 1876 and the beginning of 1877, when he accompanied as a photographer the expedition of French adventurer Théodore Ber , financed by American businessman Henry Meiggs , against Ber’s promise of donating

6318-710: Was ruling the Anuradhapura Kingdom . It was written based on prior ancient compilations known as the Atthakatha , which were commentaries written in Sinhala. An earlier document known as the Dipavamsa (4th century CE) "Island Chronicles" is much simpler and contains less information than the Mahavamsa and was probably compiled using the Atthakatha on the Mahavamsa as well. A companion volume,

6399-694: Was the first in China to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing. His written work was the Records of the Grand Historian , a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. Its scope extends as far back as the 16th century BCE, and it includes many treatises on specific subjects and individual biographies of prominent people, and also explores the lives and deeds of commoners, both contemporary and those of previous eras. His work influenced every subsequent author of history in China, including

6480-534: Was to create the image of a sacred island. Inside the walls were many images devoted to human origin, which only the elites would see. Commoners may have entered this structure only for ceremonial purposes since it was home to the holiest of shrines. In many Andean cultures, mountains are venerated and may be considered sacred objects. The site of Tiwanaku is located in the valley between two sacred mountains, Pukara and Chuqi Q’awa . At such temples in ancient times, ceremonies were conducted to honor and pay gratitude to

6561-415: Was used in different areas for what seems like aesthetic purposes. It was swept clean of all domestic refuse, signaling its great importance to the culture. The Pumapunku is a man-made platform built on an east-west axis like the Akapana. It is a T-shaped, terraced earthen platform mound faced with megalithic blocks. It is 167.36 m wide along its north-south axis and 116.7 m broad along its east-west axis and

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