An Overlooked Hill in Bolivia Turned Out to Be One of the Andes' Oldest Temples
A temple bigger than a city block was hiding in plain sight for over 1,000 years.
Tudor TaritabyTudor Tarita July 2, 2025
Edited and reviewed by Zoe Gordon
Aerial view and layout of the Palaspata Temple. Credit Jose Capriles/Antiquity
In the dry, wind-swept highlands of Bolivia, a dusty hill overlooked by archaeologists and tourists alike has revealed one of the most significant ancient discoveries in South America in recent years: a massive, ceremonial temple hidden in plain sight. Long known to local farmers but never formally studied, researchers now identified this hilltop as the Palaspata temple — a sacred and strategic outpost built by the Tiwanaku civilization over a millennium ago.
The finding reshapes what researchers thought they knew about the reach and organization of one of the Andes’ most powerful yet enigmatic pre-Inca societies.
A Long Underestimated Civilization
The Tiwanaku civilization flourished near the Southern shores of Lake Titicaca from around 500 to 1000 CE, leaving behind impressive stone architecture, monoliths, and terraced temples. At its height, Tiwanaku’s influence stretched across what is now Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and even Argentina. But scholars have long debated how centralized (or scattered) this pre-Columbian state truly was.
“Their society collapsed sometime around 1000 CE and was a ruin by the time the Incas conquered the Andes in the 15th century,” said José Capriles, an associate professor of anthropology at Penn State and the lead author of a new study published in Antiquity.
More:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/an-overlooked-hill-in-bolivia-turned-out-to-be-one-of-the-andes-oldest-temples/