ABSTRACT
Many monumental complexes in the Tiwanaku urban core also witnessed significant transformation. It is not entirely clear what changes occurred in the Kalasasaya and Sunken Temple, but both most likely remained important places for ritual activity as sacred spaces with increasingly ancient histories. In Pumapunku, though many late features have been since heavily quarried, certain areas reveal important changes. The main platform was raised and resurfaced and new structures were built on top, while the stone-lined drainage system was elaborated and, perhaps most significant, the main passage from the principal stairway to the inner sunken court was filled in (Vranich 1999:231-232). The courtyard remained central to ritual activity in the complex; in fact its west edge was embellished with an elegant stairway, facilitating entry from the now higher platform. However, it appears likely that access to it was now more restricted. The platform’s south edge, meanwhile, was never finished. As Vranich (1999:232) notes, “The Pumapunku complex remains . . . a monumental contradiction: overengineered yet unfinished, monumental in appearance, yet façade-like in reality.”
