The traveller’s famous soliloquy in the presence of the mummy of Thebes comes to mind as one contemplates the giant walls and huge monoliths of Tiahuanaco, which, so far as science has been able to discover, was in the height of its splendor when Baalbec and Luxor were new, and before King Solomon had built his wonderful temple.

Who were the architects and builders of these palaces and temples? And whence came the colossal blocks of granite to construct them in the midst of what is now a level plateau? One looks helplessly at the hieroglyphics, to which no key has yet been found, and is informed only that scientists have discovered in these picture writings the popular worship of a great deity, Viracocha, who was the god of the ancient builders. As represented in the carvings on the temple doorway, Viracocha holds in each hand a sceptre,—or, is it a key, symbolic of his possessing the innermost treasures of the secret chambers of wisdom? Viracocha, according to the traditions that prevail among the Aymará inhabitants of this region, was not a war god, but a wise and beneficent deity who, rising out of waters of Lake Titicaca, created the sun, the moon, and the stars, plants, animals, and men, and who made his omnipotence felt throughout the world by performing deeds of great wisdom. The two sceptres differ in form and appearance. Some authorities believe that they symbolize the double sovereignty of Viracocha over the religious and political destinies of the people. The half-kneeling figures which surround him have the attitude of rulers rendering homage to their greater chief, not in abject obeisance, but with head erect, bending only one knee, and holding a sceptre. Perhaps they represent the kingdoms of the earth, or political sovereignty, inferior only to the Omnipotence that rules both heaven and earth. In the opinion of many students, the carving on the great doorway is to be interpreted as picturing the adoration of the god Viracocha by his angels, an idea that would give their sceptres a religious rather than a political significance. In any case, the hieroglyphics show nothing suggestive of war, so notable a feature of Egyptian carvings.

It seems incredible that a people who were sufficiently advanced in culture to build such stupendous works of architecture as those of Tiahuanaco, and to whom the art of picture writing was known, should have left no trace of their existence in the historical records of antiquity. The legends of a “lost Atlantis” and a “lost Lemuria” may yet be accounted for by the complete change which has apparently been wrought on the American continent, at some period, through a cataclysm which left only a few vestiges of anterior civilization in this part of the world. Whether the destructive action originated in the Pacific Ocean, from the same centre of disturbance as that which at some time in geologic history upheaved the Andes in America and built the chain of volcanoes that extends all the way from New Zealand to Kamchatka in the Orient, or whether the change was wrought on the Atlantic side, the proofs seem equally well established that closer communication once existed between America and the Eastern Hemisphere. The liability of the earth to volcanic and seismic disturbances, at least within the records of modern times, has been more pronounced in the Pacific Ocean than in the Atlantic; and the ancient ruins in the scattered islands of the Pacific, their great monoliths and curious hieroglyphics, appear to afford more evidences of such a change than anything so far discovered in the Atlantic. According to the best scientific authorities, the origin of these monuments may be even more remote than those of Egypt, since nothing exists to prove their exact antiquity. Archæologists may yet find proofs that the earliest civilization on the globe had its chief centre in America, and that its people were the ancestors, not the descendants, of Asiatic races.

The origin of the word Tiahuanaco is a disputed question, as is everything else which relates to this locality. Garcilaso de la Vega derives it from two Quichua words, tiay, huanaco, meaning “sit down, huanaco,” and says it originated in an exclamation of the Inca Maita-Ccapac to his fleet-footed messenger. It is more reasonable to suppose that the name is Aymará, from tia, meaning “border” or “bank,” and huañaco, meaning “dried,” equivalent to “dried bank.” Many other interpretations are given. Archbishop Taborga, in a scholarly study of the word, derives it neither from the Quichua nor the Aymará, but from the language of the Mayas of Yucatan, according to which it would mean “the country above the waters of the omnipotent God.” One authority says an analysis of the word proves the repetition ten times of the word “water.” According to Dr. Escobari, a learned philologist who has made a special study of the Aymará language, the word is composed of three words, thia-wana-haka, which mean “the man of the dry coast.” Another derivation is secured by the elision of the first syllable of inti, meaning “sun,” which results in Ti-wuan-hake, “the city of the Children of the Sun.” A Bolivian linguist, Dr. Emeterio Vilamil, believes the word comes from Ti, which is a variation of Tien of China, Teotl of Mexico, and Theos of the Greeks, with the following syllables making Ti-wan-aca, “this is of God.” The best authorities say the name was suggested by some great deluge.

In the many legends and traditions attributed to the people who built Tiahuanaco the predominating feature is the account of a great flood; and a German astronomer who visited these interesting ruins some years ago believes Viracocha to be a god of the deluge. He says of the hieroglyphics which adorn the façade of the temple: “In these figures it is necessary to distinguish two things, the allegory itself and the other drawings, which at first sight appear to be merely symmetrical adornments. The allegory represents the figure of a man or god, who holds in each hand a symbol that expresses the uniting of the attribute of lightning with the downpour of rain. From his eyes fall teardrops, but in combination with the sign of lightning. His head is encircled in rays, which are not rays of light, but signs of lightning and rain being discharged simultaneously. All the adornments of his clothing show the symbol of water; and even the head is not round, but has the shape of a letter or character which signifies ‘water.’ In the middle of the figure and on the head is clearly shown the drawing of a ship, which is again seen in the centre of the hieroglyphic under the feet. This figure does not merely speak, but cries out with a clear voice, comprehensible to all the world, that it is not an insignificant matter that is here treated, something of indifferent importance for history, but that it is an effort to narrate to posterity a great fact worthy of remembrance, a marvellous phenomenon of nature, the phenomenon of extraordinary rains with thunder and lightning, and of a catastrophe which occurred not only in this region but throughout the world.”

It must be confessed that it requires a great stretch of the imagination to trace in the figure carved over the doorway of the ancient temple in Tiahuanaco the symbols of rain and lightning referred to, or even the drawings of ships; furthermore, the winged rulers kneeling before their greater sovereign do not seem to bear out the diluvial idea. But the study of this enigma affords wide latitude for original speculation, and the last word has not yet been said. Archæologists who have made even a few excavations find that the ground within a radius of more than three square miles shows evidences of a buried population; and to a depth of from five to fifteen feet buried walls, adorned by images in relief, have been unearthed, while the soil seems to be full of bones, human and animal, as far down as the excavations have been made.

If it was merely a local deluge that inspired the traditions of the ancient inhabitants, such as the flooding of the basin which lies between the two ranges of the Andes, now known as the Altaplanicie, the older civilization must have existed prior to that event, and the later one after the waters had begun to recede, or else Tiahuanaco may have been on a peninsula of the lake submerged for a time. According to some authorities this is the explanation of the two or three distinct periods of culture found in its ruins. Little has been done so far toward finding out the secrets of this wonderful place. The Bolivian government has prohibited promiscuous excavations, preferring that the work shall be done systematically on a practical basis by experienced archæologists. Formerly Tiahuanaco was everybody’s property, and mammoth rocks, once hewn to build a temple to the ancient deity, were applied to the unromantic needs of a country courthouse. It was no unusual sight to observe a shepherd herding his flock in a corral made of the stones of the ancient palace, and on the road to La Paz there still stands a colossal idol, of frightful mien, which serves to mark the distance in leagues from that spot to the city. This figure was to have been taken to the museum, but for some reason the transportation was interrupted. It will no doubt be placed there soon, as that institution is being fitted up with a most valuable historical and scientific collection.

The traveller in Bolivia finds a visit to Tiahuanaco both instructive and entertaining. The trains which run daily between La Paz and Guaqui stop so close to the famous ruins that one of the ancient rocks stands directly in the way as the passenger alights from the car. It is a great square slab, apparently intended to be used in the construction of one of the unfinished temples or palaces, or as a sacrificial stone, but was left in this spot, as similar huge rocks were, either abandoned because of some great calamity, or forgotten during the sudden onslaught of an enemy who drove the workmen from the scene, never to return. Indeed, much of the architecture of Tiahuanaco represents unfinished temples and palaces. The most conspicuous rock is that of the Puerta del Sol, as the great doorway of the temple is called, meaning “door of the sun,” its hieroglyphics being especially interesting. It measures ten feet in height, thirteen feet in width, and nearly two feet in thickness, and its weight is about ten tons. The carving of the design on its face is only partly finished, showing a space where the artist had made merely the outlines of the design, and at which he was evidently working when the place was suddenly abandoned. Colossal blocks of stone lie scattered about, some of which are estimated as weighing not less than a thousand tons. The rock used for the foundations of the palace Tunca Punco, for the obelisks, and for the largest of the columns of this great structure, is porphyry of fine grain, of red-brown color, with small white spots, and of parallel structure. Quartz porphyry is by no means rare in this neighborhood. It is the opinion of the best authorities that these rocks were brought from a hill five miles away by the same system of inclined planes as that used by the Egyptians in transporting heavy stones for their pyramids and temples. The process of dividing these huge masses of rock is supposed to have been by the expansive action of water on wooden wedges. Señor Don Arturo Posnansky, of the Geographic Society of La Paz, who has made the Tiahuanaco stones a special study for several years, and whose splendid photographs of this interesting place are reproduced in this chapter, finds that many of the monoliths of Puma Punco, the locality in which stands the carved doorway of the temple, are made of volcanic lava. He gives an entertaining explanation of their origin and the process of formation: “The material was probably brought from the Cerro de Japia, an extinct volcano situated on the Isthmus of Yunguyo, where the peninsula of Copacabana joins the mainland, about fifty miles distant from Tiahuanaco. The founders of the ancient city made use of the liquid lava of this volcano, which was at that time in eruption, bringing it, by means of canals, to the foot of the mountain, where it flowed into earthen moulds, a primitive method employed to-day in the moulding of liquid iron. In Tiahuanaco are found moulds which indicate that they were used for casting the idols, their outlines having the same appearance as those which are now used in casting iron.”

There is something intensely interesting in the aspect of these colossal ruins, from whatever standpoint they are viewed. Speculation as to the probable uses for which this or that block was intended has resulted in the popular naming of each of these huge pieces. “The Inca’s writing desk” is the name given to a cyclopean cube, which is carved as if for the purpose of holding writing materials, and other accessories of the writing table. There is also “the Inca’s bath,” the table of the officiating authority in the Palace of Justice, the grand stairway to the throne room of the great palace, and a number of other furnishings, any of which would be worthy of adorning the colossal ancient palaces of Egypt, from their size and the finished style of their architecture. So wonderful is the perfection of these stones, the apparently carefully chiselled outlines, the exquisite carvings, the well polished surfaces, that the best sculptor of our day, making use of the finest steel chisels and other instruments, could not improve upon the work. It is, of course, only by popular use that the name of the Inca has been associated with these remains, as it is known that the Incas who first visited Collasuyo found these monumental ruins in the same condition as they are at present.

The general view of Tiahuanaco shows that one of its most conspicuous features is an artificial hill, which is built on a base made of huge rocks cut and squared, and which rises to a height of fifty feet, being about six hundred and twenty feet in length and four hundred and fifty feet in width. It is built in three terraces, superposed concentrically. This hill, or cerro, stands between the colossal sculptures of Tunca Punco on one side and the massive, carved doorway, and neighboring idols of Puma Punco. The purpose of the cerro is not known, though it is believed by some authorities to have been built as an inclined plane to be used in hoisting the huge rocks into place on the walls of the palace, having lost its original form in consequence of the many changes that succeeding ages have wrought. Others think it may be a burial place of the ancient kings.

Over the entire area are to be seen the beginnings of various structures, and at the base of the great carved doorway of the temple recent excavations have been made which add another element of mystery to this archæological problem of the West. The huge idols, of which there are several, made in human form and measuring from ten to fifteen feet in height in standing posture, occupy a prominent place in the ruins. They are curious-looking figures, more primitively fashioned than the ancient Egyptian idols, and bearing some resemblance to the monuments of Easter Island, in the South Pacific, the shape of the head and character of the features suggesting those crude relics of antiquity. But the Tiahuanaco figures are better carved than the Easter Island idols, and show many hieroglyphics on the arms and on the cincture around the body. Curiosity makes the study of these enigmatical signs a fascinating pastime, and any day a group may be seen making an effort at the interpretation of this wonderful language. It does not seem reasonable to suppose that they mean nothing more than adornment, since primitive people of all races have attached the greatest importance to the written sign, and rarely carved anything on the rocks which was not intended to serve the purpose of chronology. The preservation of records is such a marked tendency among all human beings that the least cultured savage can tell something about the achievements of his ancestors. What more natural than that the hieroglyphics on these idols should have been carved there to relate deeds of valor or of wisdom performed by the great personages in whose honor they were set up? In front of the doorway of the church in the plaza of Tiahuanaco two idols in sitting posture at once attract attention, seeming to symbolize the harmony between the old religion and the new, and testifying, with silent eloquence, to the universal character of the Christian faith, in which all beliefs are spiritualized and given a more lofty significance. No doubt, these chiselled figures were originally designed to adorn the altar of the ancient pagan temple, and perhaps they were to have had a place near the throne of the great Viracocha. The idols standing in the square beyond the temple doorway were probably also intended to occupy important niches in the palace or the temple.

The builders of Tiahuanaco have left the usual signs of their culture in pottery, woven cloths, metal implements, and similar articles. The visitor to Tiahuanaco to-day is pressed by a little barefooted Indian of the Aymarás to buy a huaca as a souvenir; and in the midst of the most sentimental reverie, during which the imagination may be travelling into realms of the past with a free rein, stimulated by the inspiration of these colossal relics, it is not unusual to be interrupted with: Señora, cincuenta centavos no más para una huaca rica y fina!—“Only fifty cents, madam, for a huaca!” As very few of these Indians speak Spanish, the bargaining is usually done through an interpreter. But it is far more interesting to find one’s own huacas. All relics, whether of pottery, metal, or whatever character, are called huacas, and it is a term so generally used that it is applied to mummies and burial mounds, as well as to the articles manufactured by these ancient people. Some of the huacas are very curiously wrought, and indicate advanced culture in the race by whom they were made. Exquisite vases of a very durable pottery have been found in these ruins, showing that the art of coloring was possessed to a remarkable extent, the process of which has been lost. The use of copper was known, and many of the implements were made of this metal.

But the predominating question, in the presence of the monuments, idols, and other emblems of ancient culture at Tiahuanaco, is: Why did these builders choose such a site for their colossal edifices? As a fortress it could have served little purpose against invaders, from its singularly isolated situation, unless the conditions were then totally different from what they are now. Apparently, the palace was not being built in the centre of any great population, and the temple could hardly be filled with worshippers in a region so unfavorable, on account of soil and climate, to the development of a rich and prosperous empire. There is something indicative of Oriental worshippers in this choice of a spot removed from the centres of political activity for the erection of palaces and temples for religious purposes. Was it a holy city, like Mecca or Benares? Speculation fails to explain satisfactorily the existence of these remarkable ruins, and it is devoutly to be hoped that science will seriously investigate the problem. A North American lady, Mrs. Phœbe Hearst, has earned the gratitude of all students of archæology by devoting a share of her large fortune to this purpose, and three expeditions have been equipped and sent out to South America through her generosity. They were placed under the direction of Professor Max Uhle, a noted archæologist, who is still engaged in the work of studying and classifying the antiquities of Bolivia and Peru. A fine collection, secured during the first expedition, adorns the archæological department of the Museum of Art and Science in Philadelphia. From the second expedition a valuable collection has been made for the museum of the University of California. The third expedition has not yet completed the work undertaken, but there is every reason to believe that the results will prove of the greatest importance to science. The most important museums of the world possess collections from the ruins of Lake Titicaca and Tiahuanaco, but it is doubtful whether any other monument of antiquity presents to the modern world a more difficult enigma than Tiahuanaco, the Sphinx of the Occident.