La cerámica de Tiwanaku: ¿qué indica su variabilidad?

Abstract

The Ceramics of Tiwanaku: What does the Variability Mean?

Increasingly researchers observe a wide range of variability in Tiwanaku ceramics, not only in distant regions but also within the Tiwanaku heartland of the south Titicaca Basin. This variation makes it difficult to apply the three phase or five phase chronologies developed earlier this century, as is evidenced by the wide variety of adaptations made to accommodate new data into the old periodizations. What emerges from this newly described variability is a timeline for Tiwanaku that is both shorter and more complex than previously thought. This contradicts models of Tiwanaku as a monolithic, highly centralized state with few definable periods of distinct ceramic production or decorative style.