The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
"Sphynx" solaire du haut-plateau bolivien, le légendaire dieu créateur Kon Tiki Viracocha, au masque de Puma auréolé, garde les secrets d'un monde disparu du haut de la fameuse Porte du Soleil de Tiahuanaco. Haute de près de 3 mètres et large de 4 mètres, elle est découpée dans un seul bloc d'andésite, qui pèse plus de 10 tonnes!

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Lors de son apogée (VIIIe - XIIe siècles), la haute culture de Tiahuanaco déferla tout au long de la côte péruvienne. L'iconographie de ce tissu dit tiahuanacoïde (115 x 58 centimètres) en laine et coton, trouvé sur le site de Campanario (Huarmey) et la frange au signe scalaire, rappellent les étranges petits hommes allis au nez en bec de condor, du linteau de la Porte du Soleil. (Museo Yoshitaro Amano, Lima, Pérou.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
C'est par la gueule ouverte sur des crocs aigus que s'échappe la fumée des offrandes (résine ou suif de lama brûlés) de cette lampe à encens en céramique, en forme de puma (Tiahuanaco, 667 ap.J.C.). (Haute 20 cm - Museo del Instituto nacional de Arqueologia, La Paz, Bolivie.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
En forme de fausse cloche, ce très beau kero à libations en céramique nous dévoile le faciès autoritaire d'un Pakaje de la noble caste solaire des hommes-condor de Tiahuanaco. Hauteur: 16 centimètres. (Museo del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología, La Paz, Bolivie.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Kero de la 4e époque de Tiahuanaco (667-1000 apr. J.-C.), est frappé d'un mascaron de ofrenda, masque de tête ornemental d'offrande en relief. H: 13,5cm. (Museo del Instituto Nacional de Archeologia, La Paz, Bolivie)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Vu du templete semi-souterrain de Tiahuanaco, l'escalier monumental aux six marches lithiques et la grande portada d'entrée du Kalasasaya restaurée. On aperçoit au centre la stèle «Ponce» du sanctuaire du Soleil.

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Le monolithe Ponce, l'un des dieux pétrifiés «géants» et «pleureurs» de la «Mecque» bolivienne, mesure 3 mètres de hauteur. Il est entièrement gravé de glyphes géométriques indéchiffrables. Trois larmes carrées ruissellent de ses yeux d'où tombe, sur le côté, une «aile» à tête stylisée de poisson. Des anneaux entourent ses chevilles.

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Puma Puncu, l'un des plus vastes ensembles archéologiques de Tiahuanaco, n'est plus que ruines disloquées et chaotiques. Quel culte ésotérique réunissait des milliers de pèlerins dans l'immense enceinte quadrangulaire? Des clés de bronze fondu dans des mortaises assemblaient les énormes dalles qui gisent pêle-mêle, longues de 8 mètres, larges de 5 mètres, épaisses de 2 mètres.

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Idole de pierre de l'île du Soleil (lac Titicaca). Hauteur: 45 centimètres. Ce bossu de l'époque Tiahuanaco (1000-1100 ap.J.-C.) tient un pututo, gros coquillage de mer (Strombus galeatus), utilisé comme trompette par tous les aborigènes des Amériques jusqu'aux Incas et encore de nos jours. (Museo del Instituto nacional de Arqueologia, La Paz, Bolivie.)

Detail of a Tiahuanaco fabric, 160x62 cm, made of cotton and wool - Origin: Campanario, Huarmey - Amano Museum - Lima - 1976

Tiahuanaco warrior mummy from the coast - Nazca Valley - Regional Museum of Ica - 1976

Burial bundles of the coastal Tiahuanaco culture - Nazca Valley - 11th century - Regional Museum of Ica - 1976

Tiahuanaco fabric with four hands in red - Amano-Museum - Lima - 1976

Tiahuanaco culture ceramic vessel - Private collection Pelloni - Lima - 1969

Plate of the coastal Tiahuanaco culture - Nazca valley - 11th century - diameter 26 cm - Regional Museum of Ica - 1976

Coastal Tiahuanaco - Vessel with anthropomorphic representation of a warrior - Nazca valley - Height 32 cm - 10th century - Ica Regional Museum - 1969

Coastal Tiahuanaco - Vessel with anthropomorphic representation of a warrior - Nazca valley - Height 32 cm - 10th century - Ica Regional Museum - 1976

Ceramics of the coastal Tiahuanaco culture in the form of a man (priest?) with a Kero in his hands - 11th century - Nazca Valley - Museo Regional de Ica - 1976

On the Bolivian plateau, the legendary creator god Kon Tiki Viracocha guards the secrets of a sunken world like a "sphinx". In the mask of a radiation-framed puma, he adorns the famous sun gate of Tiahuanaco, which consists of a single block of andesite, almost 3 m high and 4 m wide, weighing almost 10 tons. - 1976

The central figure of the Sun Gate at Tiahuanaco, Bolivia. As with the figure on the Raimondi Stele (Chavín culture), the head is almost as large as the body. In both hands, the Sun God holds sceptres that end in condor heads; his hair ends in snakes and jaguar heads. Tears, symbolising fertility and rain, stream down his face. He is surrounded by 148 winged figures facing him, which have been interpreted as symbols of movement and time. The Tiahuanaco culture had the most direct influence on the Inca civilisation. - Book: Picture 124 - Bolivia - 1976

View from the semi underground temple of Tiahuanaco to the monumental staircase with the six stone steps and the large restored entrance gate to the Kalasasaya. In the centre the "Ponce" stele of the Shrine of the Sun. - 1976

The Ponce Monolith is a well-preserved stele, carved from a single block of andesite, situated in the inner courtyard of the Kalasasaya Temple at the pre-Inca archaeological site of Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) in Bolivia. The statue features delicate, complex geometric and zoomorphic reliefs (such as sun, fish and condor motifs) as well as a mask-like facial form. The monolith is named after the Bolivian archaeologist Carlos Ponce Sanginés, who uncovered it in 1957. – Bolivia – 1976

The Patio Hundido ("sunken courtyard") of Tiahuanaco is an almost square complex with a side length of about 28 m and is surrounded by an enclosure wall about 2 m high and with stone heads. - 1976

This Cabeza clava is located in the Parque monolios in La Paz. - 1976

A ceramic incense burner in the shape of a big cat (20 cm high) from the Tiwanaku culture (4th period, 667 AD). The tail is shaped as a handle, and the smoke kindled in the back cavity escapes through the eyes. Instituto Nacional de Arqueología, La Paz, Bolivia. - Book: Picture 48 - Bolivia - 1976

Vessel for grave goods - Tiahuanaco culture - year 667 to 1000 - height 18 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Ceramic vase with modelled head of a figure from the 4th period of the Tiahuanaco culture - on the cheek a bulge due to the use of coca - the arrows represent the main organs of the person: the visor and the ear - height 14 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Vessel with a ceramic portrait of an anthropomorphic head of a figure from the 5th period of the Tiahuanaco culture - the arrows represent the main organs of the person: the sight and the ear - Height 11 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Grave vessel of the Tiahuanaco culture 5th period - year 1000 to 1100 - height 12 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Ceremonial vessel with a crowned snake - 4th period of the Tiahuanaco culture - years 667 to 1000 - height 8 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Large ceremonial kero - height 47.5 cm - the head is related to the sun gate of Tiahuanaco - 4th epoch - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Wooden kero with anthropomorphic head - height 19 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Photo Gallery