Aftermath of the Tiwanaku Collapse (1170s)

Timeline

1. 1170–1179Akapana terrace and Kalasasaya · La Paz DepartmentTiwanaku's core ceremonial complex went long unmaintained after the collapse. The Akapana terrace's drainage system silted up and stone buildings suffered wind erosion and looting, indicating that the religious-political center once sustaining interregional pilgrimage and sacrifice had lost its actual function, with only small-scale nomadic or seasonal occupation remaining.
2. c. 1172–1178Bolivia–Peru Altiplano · Andean highlandsThe artificial terrace (waru waru) agricultural system long relied upon before the collapse was largely abandoned, and populations migrated to lower-altitude valleys. Independent chiefdoms appeared across the highlands, pottery styles and burial customs diverged, and the unified religious symbols and trade networks of the Tiwanaku Empire were no longer shared, entering a fragmented phase of regional politics.