Brief Introduction: Ancient Ruins of Tiwanaku and PumaPunku
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku (Spanish: Tiahuanaco and Tiahuanacu) is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site created for Astronomical observations.
It is situated near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, in Bolivia.
Its principal structures include a huge stepped pyramid of earth faced with cut andesite (the Akapana Pyramid) and a rectangular enclosure known as the Kalasasaya, constructed of alternating stone columns and rectangular blocks.
The entrance to the Kalasasaya is a monolithic gateway decorated with carved figures.
One of the best known landmarks at the ancient site of Tiwanaku is the Gate of the Sun. It is a megalithic solid stone arch or gateway constructed by the ancient Tiwanaku culture of Bolivia. The gate served most likely as an astronomical calendar.
The Gate of the Sun.
The monolithic object is approximately 9.8 ft (3.0 m) tall and 13 ft (4.0 m) wide.
It is constructed from a single piece of stone. The weight is estimated to be 10 tons.
Puma Punku
The site of the Puma Punku (also called “Puma Pumku” or “Puma Puncu”) is located not far from the temple complex at Tiwanaku (Look at the bottom left on the satellite photo below. ) It is part of a large temple complex or monument group that is part of the Tiwanaku archaeological site.
In Aymara, Puma Punku means, “The Door of the Cougar”
Don’t miss explanations about how this sites were made ( below ).
Architectural Puzzle
Puma Punku doesn’t look impressive: a hill with remains of an old pyramid and a large number of megalithic blocks of stone on the ground, evidently smashed by a devastating earthquake. The stones are very finely cut and some weigh over 100 tonnes.
Closer inspection these (very hard) stone blocks shows they have been fabricated with a very advanced technology.
Even more surprising is the technical design and perfection of these blocks ( shown in the images below. )
All blocks were designed to fit together like interlocking building blocks.
The processes and technologies involved in the creation of these temples are still not fully understood by modern scholars.
Source: Jean-Pierre Protzen & Stella E.Nair, “On Reconstructing Tiwanaku Architecture”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 59, Nr.3, 2000, pp. 358-371
Puma Punku, truly startles the imagination. It seems to be the remains of a great wharf (for Lake Titicaca long ago lapped upon the shores of Tiahuanaco) and a massive, four-part, now collapsed building. One of the construction blocks from which the pier was fashioned weighs an estimated 440 tons (equal to nearly 600 full-size cars) and several other blocks laying about are between 100 and 150 tons. The quarry for these giant blocks was on the shore of Titicaca, some ten miles away.
Archaeologists claim that there is no known technology in all the ancient world that could have transported stones of such massive weight and size.
The Andean people of 500 AD, with their simple reed boats, could certainly not have moved them.
Official Archaeology does not explain how the architectural structures were made
Official archeology can’t explain mysterious stone technology used to create the architectural structures at Tiwanacu and Puma Punku.
Tiahuanaco and Puma Punku are examples of engineering so monumental that it dwarfs even the work of the Aztecs.
Stone blocks on the site weigh anything up to 65 tons. They bear no chisel marks, so the means by which they were shaped remains a mystery (to archaeologists).
The stones came from at least two different quarries; one supplied sandstone and was situated 10 miles away and used to produce blocks weighing up to 400 tons.
The other one, located 50 miles away, supplied andesite.
Archaeologists don’t know how the enormous blocks were transported in an age before the horse was domesticated in South America.
Close examination of the structures shows an unusual technique behind their building.
The stone blocks were notched, then fitted together so that they interlocked in three dimensions.
The result was buildings strong enough to withstand earthquakes.
More info about Tiwanacu and Pumapunku
Ancient Stone Technology Revealed
Closer look at the stonework at both sites (Tiwanaku and Puma Punku) reveals the most obvious explanation about how the ancient architectural structures were made.
The ancient architects were making intricate ( and often huge ) stone blocks by pouring concrete (not identical but similar to modern concrete).
Use of this technology solves two questions archaeologists could not answer:
- how could they make the very hard to process blocks so FLAT and extremely precise, and
- how the enormous blocks were transported (there was no need to move giant stones since material to make concrete was brought to site in manageable amounts).
Look at the following images and come to your own conclusions.
Photos of the ancient stone blocks taken at archaeological sites of Tiwanaku and Puma Punku:
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Examples of modern stone blocks made of poured concrete:
Subject Related
Geopolymer Institute Research
Geopolymer Institute : The Megaliths at Tiwanaku / Pumapunku are artificial geopolymers
Stones at Sacsayhuaman
Source: Le Moment Curieux ( on YouTube).
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After watching the above video, look at the modern example: