Akapana Pyramid
The Akapana Pyramid is a significant pre-Incan structure located at the Tiwanaku archaeological site in Bolivia, positioned approximately 12 miles southeast of Lake Titicaca at a high elevation of 12,500 feet (3,810 meters). As the largest structure in the Tiwanaku complex, the Akapana is a truncated pyramid standing 50 feet (15 meters) tall, built from andesite stone and featuring a base that measures around 200 feet (61 meters) on each side. Its design, which aligns with the cardinal directions, showcases seven levels of closely fitted stone blocks that were originally adorned with carvings, paintings, and metal plaques.
The pyramid is believed to embody the cosmogenic myths of the Tiwanaku culture, with a unique water management system that channels water from a basin at its summit, allowing it to flow through the pyramid and eventually feed into an underground river, returning to Lake Titicaca. This intricate engineering marvel is often compared to the Great Pyramid of Giza due to its complexity and significance. Culturally, the Akapana is viewed as a sacred mountain, symbolizing the connection between water, fertility, and life, while also reflecting the majestic Quimsachata range of the Andes. The historical name of Tiwanaku, Taypikhala, translates to "the stone in the center," underscoring its importance in the region's heritage.
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Akapana Pyramid
Related civilization: Tiwanaku.
Date: c. 200 b.c.e.-200 c.e.
Locale: Near Lake Titicaca and modern Tiwanaku, Bolivia
Akapana Pyramid
The Akapana (ah-KAH-pah-nuh) pyramid is the largest structure at the Tiwanaku site of pre-Incan ruins in Bolivia. The pyramid is 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of Lake Titicaca, at approximately 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) above sea level, in the highest American city of the ancient world. The remaining structure is a truncated, terraced, pyramid made with andesite 50 feet (15 meters) high, with sides about 200 feet (61 meters) long around the base and exactly oriented toward the cardinal directions. It has seven levels of nearly perfectly joined stone blocks that were once faced with carvings, paintings, and metal plaques. The stone was quarried 60 miles (97 kilometers) away.
The pyramid appears to represent the cosmogenic myths of the Tiwanaku. Water collected in a square basin at the top of the pyramid and was directed through intricate interior channels so that it poured out of the walls of each level and then ran back into the structure, finally to exit into an underground river returning the water to Lake Titicaca. Besides being an engineering marvel equal to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Akapana is the sacred mountain at the center of the world, a reflection of the distant Quimsachata range of the Andes. The natural flow of its rainy-season waters is the source of the abundant fertility of the earth and human life. When the waters ran full, the sound of their passage would have made the whole structure vibrate and roar like a huge bell of stone. The true name of Tiwanaku was Taypikhala, which, in the local language means “the stone in the center.”
Bibliography
Kolata, Alan. The Tiwanaku. Cambridge, England: Blackwell, 1993.
Masuda, S., et al. Andean Ecology and Civilization. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1985.
Moseley, Michael E. The Incas and Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Peru. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992.