La pirámide de Akapana: reconsiderando el centro monumental de Tiwanaku

Abstract

The Akapana Pyramid: Reconsidering Tiwanaku's Monumental Center

The most visible remains of the Tiwanaku civilization are the monuments found at the site of Tiwanaku. Although the target of extensive excavation and analysis in the last 100 years, there is a serious lack of substantiated information about important aspects such as dating, form, and construction of these monuments. This in turn affects our understanding of the development of this impressive urban ceremonial center. 

In the following article I examine the principle monument at Tiwanaku, the Akapana pyramid, evaluating the most recently published interpretations of its dating, form and construction in light of information collected during my 1999 and 2000 field seasons. Finding inadequacies with the manner in which monuments have been excavated and interpreted in the past, I propose an alternative method and reinterpret the available evidence. I conclude with an alternative explanation for the Akapana pyramid and explore the ramifications of my new perspective on this monument for broader understandings of the pre-Columbian center's urban form.