Pumapunku is a megalithic temple complex located in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. In Quechua, the name Puma Punku means, “The Door of the Cougar”. It is situated near the south eastern shore of Lake Titicaca, and sits on a plateau in the Andes at roughly 12,600 feet elevation. Pumapunku's construction is generally believed to have taken place beginning around 200 BC. The temple itself stood at least 56 feet tall and took up an area of 164 square feet while the overall site and the surrounding constructions extend over half a kilometer in length.
At its peak, Pumapunku is thought to have been “unimaginably wondrous,” adorned with polished metal plaques, brightly colored ceramic and fabric ornamentation, and trafficked by costumed citizens, elaborately dressed priests and elites decked in exotic jewelry. Our understanding of this complex is limited due to its age, the lack of a written record, and the current deteriorated state of the structures. The technological innovation and the beautiful stonework that went into the creation of Pumapunku have drawn comparisons to the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and Easter Island.
Determining the age of these ruins has been a focus of researchers since the site's discovery. Currently, scholars date the beginning of the Tiwanaku culture to some time around 1500 BC with the construction of the Pumapunku complex taking place around 200 BC. Various fringe researchers, based mainly on the now discredited dating of Arthur Posnansky, suggest that Pumapunku was not an original construction of the Tiwanaku. They suggest that significant parts of this complex were created as early as 15,000 BC and that the Tiwanaku occupied and elaborated upon pre-existing structures.
The processes and technologies involved in the creation of these temples are still not fully understood by modern scholars. Our current knowledge of the Tiwanaku culture holds that they had no writing system and also that the invention of the wheel was most likely unknown to them. The architectural achievements seen at Pumapunku are striking in light of the presumed level of technological capability available during its construction.
Due to the monumental proportions of the stones, the method by which they were transported to Pumapunku has been a topic of interest since the temple's discovery. The stones are believed to have been transported up a steep incline from a quarry near Lake Titicaca roughly 20 miles away. Some of the blocks are said to weigh in the range of 100–130 tons.
One notable block has been measured at 36 feet long, 16 feet wide and 6 feet thick. Archaeologists believe that this was accomplished by the large labor force of ancient Tiwanaku. Several theories have been proposed as to how this labor force transported the stones although these theories remain speculative. Two of the more common proposals involve the use of llama skin ropes and the use of ramps and inclined planes.
In assembling the walls of Pumapunku, each stone was finely cut to interlock with the surrounding stones and the blocks fit together like a puzzle, forming load-bearing joints without the use of mortar. One common engineering technique involves cutting the top of the lower stone at a certain angle, and placing another stone on top of it which was cut at the same angle. The precision with which these angles have been utilized to create flush joints is indicative of a highly sophisticated knowledge of stone-cutting and a thorough understanding of descriptive geometry.
Many of the joints are so precise that not even a razor blade will fit between the stones. Much of the masonry is characterized by accurately cut rectilinear blocks of such uniformity that they could be interchanged for one another while maintaining a level surface and even joints. The blocks were so precisely cut as to suggest the possibility of prefabrication and mass production, technologies far in advance of the Tiwanaku’s Incan successors hundreds of years later. Tiwanaku engineers were also adept at developing a civic infrastructure at this complex, constructing functional irrigation systems, hyrdraulic mechanisms, and waterproof sewage lines.
To sustain the weight of these massive structures, Tiwanaku architects were meticulous in creating foundations, often fitting stones directly to bedrock or digging precise trenches and carefully filling them with layered sedimentary stones to support the megaliths. Modern day engineers believe that the base of the Pumapunku temple was constructed using a technique called layering and depositing. By alternating layers of sand from the interior and layers of composite from the exterior, the fills would overlap each other at the joints, essentially grading the contact points to create a sturdy base.
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The Tiwanaku civilization and the use of these temples appears to have peaked from around 700 AD to 1000 AD, by which point the temples and surrounding area may have been home to some 400,000 people. By this point, an extensive infrastructure had been developed with a complex irrigation system running over 30 square miles to support potatoes, quinoa, corn and other various crops. At its peak the Tiwanaku culture dominated the entire Lake Titicaca basin as well as portions of Bolivia and Chile.
The culture seems to dissolve rather abruptly some time around 1000 AD and researchers are still seeking answers as to why. The most likely scenario involves rapid environmental change, possibly involving an extended drought. Unable to support the massive crop yields necessary for their large population, the Tiwanaku are believed to have scattered into the local mountain ranges only to disappear shortly thereafter.
