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Can 15,000 years be confused with 4000 or 1800 years?

Archeologists have not yet reached agreement on the age of the Tiahuanaco ruins, the spiritual and political centers of one of the most powerful and ancient cultures of the Andean plateau.

Some scholars say that most monuments were built between 200 and 600 A.D.

TRIVIA Due to its antiquity, mysteries and original architecture, Tiahuanaco has been called "the American Baalbek".

Arthur Posnansky, an archeologist from the Universidad de la Paz, discovered indications that could place the main stage of Tiahuanacan constructions circa 15,000 B.C.

Recently, Carlos Ponce Sanguines, a Bolivian archeologist from the Centro de Investigaciones Antropologicas Tuahuanaco (CEINANTI) (Tiahuanaco Center of Anthropological Research), pointed out that the Tiahuanacan culture developed between 1580 B.C. and 1187 A.D.

In turn, old Indian legends place the constructions at the beginning of time and tell that Viracocha, the Sun God, built this ceremonial center in one day.

I do not think that there is a wilder, sadder and magnificent landscape in nature. Bartolome Mitre, "Las Ruinas de Tiahuanaco" (Tiahuanaco Ruins), 1848.

Thus, the monumental remains of Tiahuanaco are found at an altitude of 3,859 meters above sea level, on the "roof of America". This city that was the cultural, religious and economic center of a large area extending from what today is the south of Peru to the north of Chile, some regions in Argentina and most of Bolivia.

Its disappearance, in the early 12th Century, is surrounded by mystery, and gave rise to many smaller political entities that in time came together to form the great Inca Empire that the Spaniards found when they arrived in this region.

Not only its disappearance, but also other enigmas are still awaiting a scientific answer, such as the placement of the huge monoliths, the presence of a layer of marine sediments, remains of marine fossils, a wharf and dikes suggesting a port at an altitude of almost 4,000 meters.

AGRICULTURE Some Bolivian farmers have revived the ancient Tiahuanacota agricultural system, leading to a marked increase in production.

However, besides the questions, what astonishes visitors today is the magnificence of the archeological remains that barely give us a glimpse of the splendor of Tiahuanaco.

Long colonnades, huge walls, colossal monoliths, underground aqueducts, bas-reliefs, and all mute witnesses of an extinct civilization.

Outstanding features are the ruins of the Akapana pyramid; the temple of Kalasasaya with the Gateway of the Sun, carved from a single block of stone: the "Fraile" an anthropomorphic monolith; and the palaces of Putuni, Laka-Kollu and Kheri-Kala.

LEGACY On November 30, 2000, UNESCO included Tiahuanaco in the list of "World Heritage Sites".

Tiahuanaco spread its influence thanks to its economic development based to a large extent, on a clever agricultural system.

The cultivation technique in artificial terraces separated by small irrigation channels, not only allowed them to irrigate and enrich the soil, but it also preserved the heat generated by the sun during the day to tolerate the freezing nights of the plateau. This is how they enhanced the microclimate of the soil, reaching levels that even today many regions of the world are unable to attain.

Mankind today owes to the Tiahuancans at least the development of growing potatoes (Solanum Tuberosum), "choque" in the local dialect, basis of the daily diet of most people on the five continents.

The ruins of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia, an example of the best of the latin spirit.