The historic legacy of the Altiplano

The Altiplano is considered one of the main centers of prehispanic cultural development. It was an area densely inhabited and strategic in terms of economy, politics, military and ideology, where diverse political and social societies settled. It also became, after a long process of adaptation to the harsh geographic conditions - high altitude and low temperatures - a vital center for the domestication of plants and animals.

This long cultural process has been divided into five great periods starting with the Archaic (8.000-2.000 B.C.) during which small groups of deer and camelid hunters, river and lake fishermen, and fruit and root gatherers were permanently moving in search of food, and taking refuge in caves, shelters and open camps set over small hills close to water sources. Their presence can be seen in sites such as Corani, Isivilla, Macusani, Qelqatani, Pizacoma, Qellqata, Mazocruz, Tumuko, Salcedo and Lenzora, among others. It is possible to identify diverse expressions of their daily lives and beliefs, in some cave paintings and in some instruments made of stone: spear points, knifes, punches, and scrapers. The main rocks they used, the macusanita, andesita or basalt, were obtained from different sources found within the region, while the obsidian came from farther away locations such as Arequipa.

It is also during the Archaic period when domestication of plants such as the potato, quinoa, cañihua and oca began; and of animals such as the llama, the alpaca and the guinea pig. During this stage there was a development of techniques to preserve food products such as chuño, tunta, caya and charki. These techniques consisted on taking advantage of the low temperatures and strong sun. All of this added to facilitate the control of food resources and sedentarism, which then derived into the Formative period (1.500 a.C-400 d.C.). This new stage was marked by the emergence of the first agro-pasturing societies which managed to adapt to the medium and develop hierarchical societies, both north of the basin such as Qaluyo, Cusipata, Pucara and Huaña, and to the south with Wankarani, Chiripa, Kalasasaya and Qeya. These societies were characterized by a growing complexity in terms of social and political relationships, and intensive contact with the valleys of the regions of the Amazon and the Pacific.

These societies had village-like settlements with a disperse pattern close to production areas, which increased thanks to the development of agricultural systems such as terraces, waru warus and cochas. They also developed a monumental architecture with semi-subterranean temples of rectangular floors surrounded by room complexes. From this period also stand out the pottery, textiles, metallurgy, rock sculpting, and carving of wood and bones, which allowed the development of a complex symbolic and ritualistic iconography through the Yaya Mama religious tradition which covered different social segments throughout the region.

These hierarchical societies where the base over which the Tiwanaku State (400-1.100 AC) developed. The main center of this state was the site of Tiahuanaco - Bolivia in present times - from where they controlled an immense territory of almost 400.00 km2 which included almost all of Bolivia, the south of Peru, the north of Chile and the northwest of Argentina. In the Altiplano they occupied agricultural sectors close to the shores of the lake and to its islands where they maintained important ceremonial centers, controlled the cordillera as a space for cattle breeding and the roads leading to the valleys of the Pacific and the yungas, from where they obtained food products to complement their diets, as well as exotic objects such as feathers, coca leaves, etc., to maintain their relationships of reciprocity and exchange. Control was practiced in an indirect manner through the diffusion of their integrative ideology illustrated on pottery, textiles, rock sculptures, etc, and through the coexistence with local groups existing during the formative period.