Bolivia 2004; 2005

Due to a few twists and turns, starting in the Summer of 2004 I found myself in Bolivia with the Proyecto Arqueológico Pumapunku Akapana. I am proud to say that I had the opportunity to excavate within the monumental core of Tiwanaku, a UNESCO world heritage site and focal point of both indigenous and Bolivian nationalism.

In 2004 I began work on the west side of the Akapana Pyramid to the south of the Putuni complex. Ground penetrating radar surveys indicated that there might be something of interest in this seemingly open space and I think that was the case. Thus over those two field seasons I spent my time investigating a series of superimposed patio-ish floors made of both pebbles and compacted soil. In 5x5m trenches we recovered buckets of ceramics (many of them fine and painted), and piles of llama bones. The only indication we found of any sort of structure was a small adobe wall.

I see the area as a vast party space. Feasting seems to be a curse word in archaeology, however the ancient Tiwanaku seemed to construct a floor in this area, smash tons of nice pottery on it, eat the best of llama bits (haunches and ribs), make a closing offering (piles of human teeth, mica temper, deer horn tools, pigment, etc) then cover the old floor with a new one. Repeat. Repeat. During the modern solstice ceremony at the site, everyone passes out in the museum parking lot. Why couldn't the area I excavated have been in the same way in the past?

My time at Tiwanaku has fed directly into my PhD Research.

Papers

2007 Donna Yates and Jonah Augustine, Between the Sacred and the Profane: Spatial Transitions to the West of the Akapana Pyramid.

2006 Donna Yates and Jonah Augustine, New Discoveries and Unexpected Contexts: Continued Excavations to the West of the Akapana Pyramid, Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Paper presented at the 71st annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

2005 Donna Yates and Maeve Skidmore, Alternative use of Space: Results of the 2004 excavations on the West side of the Akapana Pyramid, Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Paper presented at the 70th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Salt Lake City, Utah