Decline of Tiwanaku Culture

Timeline

1. 1161–1164Tiwanaku site core area · La Paz DepartmentArchaeological evidence shows that residence and ritual activity at the Akapana pyramid and Kalasasaya temple zone continued to decline, and stone buildings lacked systematic maintenance, indicating that Tiwanaku's appeal as a religious-political center had greatly waned.
2. 1165–1168Titicaca highlands · Titicaca basinRaised-field agriculture suffered declining output due to drought cycles and soil salinization, reducing the agricultural surplus that sustained Tiwanaku's urban scale; populations were forced to disperse into small lakeside settlements, weakening economic self-sufficiency.
3. 1169–1170Collasuyo and Mojo valleys · Southern highlandsLocal chiefdoms formerly within the Tiwanaku cultural sphere gradually became independent, with trade and political ties taken over by dispersed local centers; Tiwanaku's status as an interregional hegemon had essentially ended by the end of this decade.