Tiwanaku

Timeline

1. c. 200–500Southern end of Lake Titicaca · AltiplanoIn the first centuries CE, raised-field (waru waru) agriculture and llama herding adapted to the high-altitude environment, providing the food and labor base for later urban concentration and large-scale religious construction.
2. c. 500–800Tiwanaku ceremonial core · AltiplanoThis period saw major building: the Akapana pyramid, the Kalasasaya ceremonial plaza, and the Gate of the Sun, with superb stone-cutting and transport techniques indicating highly centralized religious authority and mobilization capacity.
3. c. 600–900Bolivia–southern Peru highlands · Southern PeruTiwanaku culture spread through colonial outposts, religious symbols, and pottery styles to Moquegua in southern Peru and the Atacama in northern Chile, forming a cross-highland Andean trade and belief network that influenced the religious imagery of the later Wari Empire and Inca civilization.
4. c. 900–1000Tiwanaku · AltiplanoProlonged drought around the 10th century reduced agriculture and drove population outflow; large-scale construction ceased and the urban center declined. The site was still revered as a place of creation in Inca times, but was no longer an active political city.