Tihuanacu. La cuna del hombre americano. Tomo III

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TIHUANACU LA CUNA DEL HOMBRE AMERICANO por el Prof. Ing. Arthur Posnansky, F.R.A.I. Presidente de la Sociedad Geog1áfica de la Paz; Presidente de la Sociedad Arqueológica de Boll\i a, Director del Instituto "Tihuanacu' de Antropología, Etaografía, y Prehistoria; Miembro del Directorio de los Beneméritos de la Patria ; Vocal suplente Instituto Panamencano de Geografía e Histona, Comeadador de la Regia Orden del W asa, Ex-presidente de Sección del XXVII Congreso Intern. de Americanistas (Sesión Lima), Ex pre:.idente de la III Sección de la III Asamblea General del ln;htuto Panamencaao de Geografía e H1 ston a, Miembro de la Academ ia de C1enC1as de Nue'a York; D irector del Instituto de Folklore de Bolivia, Director de la Mmón Cultura l del Gobierno de Bolivia a los E E U U; etc. Edición dirigida por el Dr Manuel L1endo L=arle Director del Museo Nacional "Tthuanacu" Ca:ledrabco de AnJropologia de la Uruversidad Mayor de "San Andres"

TOMO III

Obra publicada bajo los auspicios del Excmo. Sr_ Presidente de la República Dr. Hernán Siles Zuazo y del Sr. Ministro de Educación don Fernando Díez de Medina.

1896

Ministerio de Educación

La Paz

Copyright 1957 by Ministerio de Educación

English translation by

JAMES F. SHEARER Hispanic Department, Columbia University, New York

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PRINTED IN BOLIVIA

Piafe l A typ1cal Keru f1om T1huandCU Pldnchd / Un K eru típico de Tihuanacu

Arthur Posnansky, a native of Germany and a Bolivian by adoption and soul is tutelary gran father in the Bolivian science. An archetype of energy, of a passionate activity, he snatched the age old stones their secret; he showed the civilized world the historical and symbolical interpretation of the culture of Tiwanacu; he was the first to reduce to system the Kolla past. A number of books, leaflets and monoghaphs ( one hundred in all) condense his fruitful work. TIAW ANACU is a fundamental and colossal production in a life devoted to study and to a creative work, whose first two parts were published in Volumen N 9 1 in a bilingual text, both in Spanish as well as in English, by the J. Augustin House of New York. The work was sold, having been greatly solicited in archaeological and scientific spheres of the Continent, not only for its research material and the author's theories, but also because of the rich graphic material which supplies the scholars with a lucid information. If we take into account the present economical crisis, the Ministry of Education has made a real effort to finance the publication of the third and fourth part in V olume II of Tiwanacu, in order to pay a tribute to the memory of the renowned scientist and make the Andean past widely known. We are sure that this edition will contribute to the prestige of the Bolivian typographic industry. It as been printed in the Don Bosco Press, in a very praiseworthy technical effort. Arthur Posnansky, an archaeologist, ethnologist, antropologist, historian and polemist; a passionate re-discoverer of our pre-history; the man that gathered the greatest research

Arturo Posnanky, alemán de origen, boliviano de arraigo y de alma, es un abuelo tutelar en la ciencia boliviana. Arquetipo de energía, de pasión realizadora, arrancó sp secreto a las piedras inmemoriales; acercó al mundo civilizado la comprensión histórica y simbólica de la cultura de Tiwanaku; fué el primer sistematizador del pasado kolla. Un centenar de libros, folletos y monografías condensa esa utilísima labor. Obra fundamental - y monumental- en esa vida consagrada al estudio y al trabajo creador, es TIW AN fiCU, cuyas dos primeras partes se publicaron en el volumen l, en texto bilingüe, español e inglés, por la casa J. Augustin de Nueva York. La obra se agotó, habiendo sido muy solicitada en los círculos arqueológicos y científicos del continente, no sólo ya por su valioso material de investigación y las teorías del autor, sino también por el rico material gráfico que agrega lucida información al estudioso. Al emprender la publicación de la tercera y cuarta partes en el volumen II de TIWANAKU, el Ministerio de Educación ha realizado un verdadero esfuerzo para financiarlo, apesar de la crisis económica actual, en homenaje a la memoria del ilustre hombre de ciencia Y con el propósito de contribuir a la difusión del pasado andino. Celebremos que esta edición, para honra de la industria tipográfica boliviana, se haya realizado por la Imprenta Don Bosco, en un alarde técnico digno de todo encomio. Arturo Posnansky, arqueólogo, etnólogo, antropólogo, historiador y polemista; apasionado re-descubridor de nuestra prehistoria: el hombre que removió mayor material investigatorio y allegó las teorías más singulares acerca

material and enunciated the most original theories regarding the Pre-Spanish civilizations in the Bolivisn Andes, has erected his pedestal of a scientist and of a dreamer. He Jet the great Andean tradition (forgotten since the death of Villamil de Rada) be widely known again, and vindicated for Bolivia the priority in America regarding the origin of man. Posnansky is in a certain way the founder of the modern Bolivian school as far as archaeology and history are concerned. Honor be to his memory. Fernando Díez de Medina Minister of Education

de las civilizaciones pre-colombinas en el Ande boliviano, ha levantado en TIW ANAKU, cuna del hombre americano, su pedestal de sabio y de soñador. El retomó la gran tradición andina, muda desde la muerte de Villamil de Rada, reivindicando para Bolivia el núcleo original de Ja primitividad americana. Posnansky es, en cierto modo, el fundador de la moderna escuela boliviana en materia arqueológica y prehistórica. Todo honor a su memoria.

Fernando Díez de Medina Ministro de Educación

The work entitled "Tihuanacu, the Cradle of American Man" -La Cuna del Hombre Americano- written by the late Professor Engineer Arthur Posnansky whose first two volurnes were published in New York in I945 by J. J. Agustín Inc., cornprising 404 pages in the text with 300 ilustrations, two colored pictures and rn rnaps, will be cornpleted with these volurne, just a their author desired. The Minister of Education of Bolivia, His Excellency Dr. Fernando Díez de Medina, has ordered the publication of these parts of the work, and is is due to his iniciative that scholars can acquire a better knowl edge of the culture of Tiahuanacu, and different aspects of American Ancient History and Archaeology as well. Professor C. W. Weiant of the Departrnent of Sociology and Anthropology of Hunter College, N. Y. has said regarding "Tihuanacu, the Cradle of American Man" : "Over a century has elapsed suce Alexander Humboldt has fervently desired that sorne learned traveler visit the shores of Lake Titicaca, the district of Collao and the high Plateau, the theater of the ancient American civilization". Frorn that time on man y travelers have visited this extraordinary "theater'', but none of them so acquainted with this matter as the author of these volumes. Furthermore, no one has spent so rnuch time to learn sufficiently about the drama whose stage has been Tihuanacu. Fifty years have elapsed since Professor Posnansky, still young at that time, arrived on the Bolivian Plateau, where he made his home. The metropolis of the primitive American civilization has been the center of his activities, excepting a few trips to neighboring countries or even to Europe where he sought new technique for his research in Tiahuanacu -or Tihuanacu- as he would rather call it based on

La obra titulada "Tihuanacu". The Cradle " of American Man - La Cuna del Hombre Americano" que ha escrito el recordado e ilustre Prof. Ing. Arthur Posnansky, cuyos dos primeros volúmenes.se publicaron en New York el año Ig45, por los editores J. J. Agustín Inc., con 404 páginas en el texto, 300 ilústraciones en medio tono, dos planchas en colores y IO mapas, con este último volumen que publicamos ha quedado, tal como deseaba su autor, totalmente terminada. El Ministro de Educación de Bolivia, siendo el Excmo. Dr. Dn. Fernando Díez de Medina, ha determinado la publicación de estos dos últimos tomos y es a su iniciativa que los hombres de estudio deben esta positiva contribución al mejor conocimiento de la cultura de Tihuanacu y también de variados aspectos~ de la prehistoria y arqueología americana. De este libro "Tihuanacu, la Cuna del Hombre Americano" dice el Prof. C. W. vVeiant, del Departamento de Sociología y Antropología del Hunter College de la ciudad de Nueva York lo siguiente: "Más de una centuria ha transcurrido desde que Alejandro Humboldt expresó ~u ferviente anhelo de que "algún viajero ilustrado visitará las riquezas del Lago Titicaca, el distrito del Collao y la alta planicie de Tihuanacu, el teatro de la antigua civilización americana". Desde entonces, muchos han sido los viajeros, sabios y profanos, que han visitado ese extraordinario "teatro", pero ninguno tan entendido en la materia como el autor de estos volúmenes. Aún más, ninguno ha permanecido allí lo necesario para aprender lo suficiente acerca del drama que tuvo a Tihuanacu por escenario. Hace ya cerca de cincuenta años que el Profesor Posnansky, entonees un joven ingeniero civil, pisó por primera vez la altiplanicie de Bolivia, el país que luego debía ser su

his knowledge of the native languages. In these four volumes Professor Posnansky recapitulates the work done in fifty years. Posnansky starts by refuting the generally accepted theory that the Western Hemisphere had been populated by Asiatic nomads who passed over to passed over to America accross the Straight of Behering. The author claims that Asia has extensive areas of land available; besides, Alaska could not offer them new possibilities in order to justify their exit. How could, he says, an insignificant migratory stream originate a po· pulation of over 40.000.000 people in few thousand years? (Pre-Spanish population reached that number according to him). Posnansky sticks to the theory according to which humanity originated in the Polar Region, that there a mild appeared first thus allowing mammalians to live and develop; the Polar Regions were called Artic and Antartic. From them man spread gradually over the Earth, even befare the Glacial period moving toward the Equator and establishing themselves in more favorable regions situated in the high plateaus, as the ones of Tibet, Mexico and the Andes. It is true that in order to back this theory no human fossils are available because no research has been done so far in that line. Besides, the number of human fossils found are far from proving any theory regarding evolution. Most of them are considered as variations of the modern man because of having been found in recent layers of sedimentary rock of earth. Be it as it may, we have to emphasize that this theory has nothing to do with the ones which identify the lost tribes of Israel, or make the Mayan civilization take origin from Cambodia or consider Quetzalcoatl as a druid priest. Posnansky's theory undoubtedly deserves more serious attention. It would be regretable if anthropologist in general as well as archaeologist in particular should not acknowledge of Posnansky's remarkable and salid contribution to science. During centuries, Tihuanacu has been subject to treasure hunters, to the ibnorant people that dwell in the modern town and even to the demolishing work of certain archaelogists who were not acquainted with the modem technique of excavation. Tons of monolites and valuable carved monuments of Tihuanacu have been

hogar. Exceptuando excursiones a los países vecinos a Bolivia y algunos viajes a Europa, en búsqueda de mayores conocimientos y técnica adicional para develar los misterios de Tiahuanacu (Tihuanacu, como él lo prefiere a base de su familiaridad con las lenguas indígenas) aquella antigua metrópoli de la primitiva civilización americana, ha sido desde entonces el centro de sus labores. En los cuatro volúmenes, Posnansky sintetiza la gran empresa científica que le absorbió todos esos años. Para comenzar, Posnansky rechaza el dictado generalmente aceptado por los antropólogos acerca de que el Hemisferio Occidental fue poblado por pequeños grupos nómadas asiáticos, que se abrían paso por la vía del Estrecho de Behering. Sostiene el autor que los asiáticos tenían amplio espacio donde se hallaban y que, además, Alaska no podía ofrecerles suficiente atracción como para justificar el éxodo de sus propias tierras. Como -pregunta Posnansky- podía tan insignificante flujo migratorio haber originado en pocos miles de años una población de cuarenta millones? (Cifra a la que llegó, según él cree, la población precolombina de América). Posnansky se adhiere a la teoría polar del origen humano. De acuerdo a ese punto de vista, la humanidad se originó en aquellas partes del mundo que, por el proceso del enfriamiento terrestre, fueron las primeras en adquirir una temperatura moderada que ya permitía el desarrollo de los mamíferos terrestres; tales regiones fueron la Artica y la Antártica. De ellas, el hombre se esparció gradualmente sobre el resto de la superficie de la Tierra, aún antes del advenimiento del Período Glacial, moviéndose hacia el Ecuador y estableciéndose finalmente en terrenos favorables en las altiplanicies (como las del Tibet, México y los Andes). Es verdad .que, para apoyar esta tesis, se carece de restos humanos fosilizados, por no haberse realizado todavía las investigaciones del caso. Además, el número de fósiles humanos encontrados, dista mucho de ser prueba concluyente para demostrar cualquier otra teoría acerca de la evolución. La mayoría de esos fósiles son considerados corno variación del hombre moderno y han sido hallados generalmente en estratos geológicos muy recientes para permitir que se los juzgue ancestrales con respecto a los

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used to build the railroad from Guaqui to La Paz, the houses of the town, the fences of the nearby "haciendas", to pave the streets of La Paz, and so forth. That is why Posnansky employs a harsh language when it comes to censuring such depredations. Science would have lost even more, had not Posnansky avoided it by means of pictures and drawings, taking notes and measurements ,thus preserving a very valuable information for posterity. A great mistery surrounds Tihuanacu's past. It is probable that most of it will never be discovered. Nevertheless, the foundations of that civilization are now clear, thanks to Posnansky's research. Formerly the climate of the high plateau to be milder. Geological investigations revealed that this plateau has emerged from its formes level. Old shores, now visible above the present level of Lake Titicaca show how the Lake got smaller due to the elevation of the earth and to the constant loss of water by evaporation. Fossilized remains and Tihuanacu's primitive art sample have shown evidendence of a flora and fauna more appropriate to subtropical regions than to the present cold climate of the Bolivian High Plateau. Three sedentary periods of the culture of Tihuanacu can be distinguished. In the first period men lived in underground dwellings, so small that they had to bend to get inside. During this period stone temples were erected whose walls were decorated human figures. It is interesting for astronomy to observe the apparent orientation of those temples. When the culture of the second period had reached its climax the worship of the moon started to spread and the andesite was used as a building material. The identification, reconstruction and analysis made by Ponsnansky about the Temple of the Moon (Puma Punku), including the finding of the niches in which the sacred Pumas were buried, is perhaps the most rcmarkable piece of archaeological synthesis of the whole work. The fact that the builders of those monuments could transport such huge stones weighing over one hundred tons each, was one of the problems that Posnansky solved in a clear and satisfying way. This work brings about a great civilization based on a very advanced agriculture, hunting

modernos. Dígase lo que se quiera de esta teoría, hay que reconocer empero que ella no es del mismo paño que las teorías que identifican a la civilización americana con las Tribus Perdidas de Israel, derivan de la civilización maya de Cam bodia o consideran a Quetzalcoatl como a un sacerdote druida. La de Posnansky es una teoría que, a la luz de la geología, la meteorología, la paleontología y otras consideraciones concretas por él desarrolladas merece indudablemente más seria atención que la que ha recibido hasta ahora. Sería un hecho excesivamente deplorable que los antropólogos en general, y los arqueólogos en particular, permitieran que sus prejuicios contra puntos de vista no muy ortodoxos, los cegaran hasta el extremo de no admitir la colosal y sólida contribución que ha hecho Posnansky en favor de la prehistoria andina. Durante centurias, Tiahuanacu ha estado sujeta a depredaciones de buscadores de tesoros, cazadores de amuletos y personas ávidas de metales preciosos; así como también a la ignorancia de los habitantes del moderno pueblo y aún a la labor destructiva de ciertos arqueólogos sin conocimiento de las nuevas técnicas de excavación. Toneladas de los monolitos y de los preciosos monumentos esculpidos de Tiahuanacu, forman hoy el terraplén del ferrocarril de Guaqui a La Paz. Esas ruínas han servido también como material de construcción en las casas del pueblo y como muros y cercos en las haciendas contiguas; han sido empleadas, además, para pavimentar varias calles de La Paz, en gran cantidad, y para la construcción de la iglesia católica del actual pueblo de Tihuanacu. De ahí que no sorprenda que, cuando se refiere a tales atrocidades, Posnansky olvida la mesura impersonal del lenguaje científico para lanzar dardos de violenta invectiva contra quienes las perpetraron. La pérdida para la cienc;a pudo haber sido aún mayor si Posnansky no lo hubiese evitado, obteniendo dibujos y fotografí::is, tomando notas y mediciones. En esa forma, logró preservar para la posteridad informaciones de inestimable valor científico y cultural. Mucho misterio rodea aún al pasado de Tihuanacu. Es probable que g:-an parte de ese misterio no sea jam5s develado. Sin er.ikirgo, y especialmente gracias a las investig8é:JC'nt · de Posnansky, el bosquejo genernl y los func ~·men­ tas de aquella civilización son ahora cbros. El

and fishing, showing mainly the construction of earth quake proof buildings, well developed systems of aqueducts mining and foundry of tin for the elaboration of bronze; a remarkable progress in shown in plastic arts, outstanding manufactures of gold and silver objects, a knowlegde of astronomy comparable to the one of the Mayas, a symbolical and rich theogony in which the sun has precedence over the moon as a main object of worship. Posnansky interprets the characters of the famous Door of the Sun as a superb almanac. The readers who are endowed with a critica! spirit will not always admit without reserve sorne of the Posnansky's opinions. The author holds, for instance, that the transition from the worship of the Moon -to the worship of the Sun was accompanied by a similar transition from the matriarchate to the patriarchate; which t

es la figura c.:apital. A ambos lados de las figuras que hemos descr~to se ven caras humanas provistas de enormes nances y cabellera negra. De un lado hay tres ~oloradas y dos amarillas, y del otro lado tres a~anllas Y dos coloradas. En todo caso este recipiente. es el que _mayores reminiscencias trae de la gran epoca. de T1huanacu, y nos recuerda mucho a una gran pieza que hace poco encontrara rota en muchos pedazos el Sr. Ronald Olson en una excavación en la costa del Pacífico en el sitio Pacheco valle de Nasca. Aquella y ésta proceden de un pe;íodo que algunos han llamado "epigonal."2a

Although these artifacts come from a period quite different from the archaic one of the Island of the Sun and Copacabana, we have included them in the description of the pieces from those regions. It seems that the wooden kerus probably originated in sorne region if the Yungas· Possibly they were taken to the markets without any decoration and later artistic work was performed on their surfaces in the places where we find them now. They are made of various kinds of wood and there are even sorne of kolo. This is a tree which produces a very heavy wood and which in Brazil is called pao mulato, since, when it is cut it shows the typical color of the mulatto's skin. Thi~ wood is extremely hard and it must have been a very difficult task to carve it with the primitive instruments of that period. There are others made of dark, hard wood from the many trees that grow in the Yungas of La Paz. In addition there are sorne of softer and lighter woods which, like cedar, are more easily carved but which do not withstand the ravages of time so well. Owing to the heat and the humidity, only insignificant remains of these vessels have been found in the Yungas. But in any event, they were of the same material and workmanship as those found in the lacustrine region. The technique employed in their decoration is very interesting. First of all they indented the design, carving the outline and details of the figures, and then they filled the reliefs with resins, moulded with metallic oxides of the many kinds found in the Andean mountain range of the northern and southern sections of Bolivia. It seems that this colored mastic was applied while hot with a hot bronze spatula. With this instrument the paste was pressed down and the surface of the receptacle made smooth. Among the kerus now in the collections of our Institute and the National Museum, there are sorne which, in certain details, show inlayings of light blue color, obtained by the use of a paste of pulverized turquoises and hot resins. This beautiful color is very common on these artifacts. To obtain green they used the showy oxides of copper like malachite, atacamite, etc. For red and its different variations, they employed cinnnabar and oxides of iron; for yellow, oxides of antimony; for black, finely ground peroxide of manganese and other kinds of ochres which abound in those regions. For white they ordinarily used a mud-free kaolin. The manufacture of this kind of vessel must go back to very remate periods, and only a few such pieces have been preser-

A pesar de que estos artefactos son de una época muy distinta de la arcaica de la Isla del Sol y de Copacabana, los hemos dejado entrar en la descripción d~. las piezas que se han encontrado en aquella reg10n. Los kerus de madera parecen haber tenido su procedencia en alguna región de los Yungas. Posiblemente, llegaron sin decoraciones a los mercados y en los sitios donde los hallamos les habían puesto recientemente la labor artística en la superficie. Son de diferentes clases de madera y algunos hasta de kolo, un árbol de madera muy pesada que en el Brasil se llama "paomulato," ya que al cortarlo ostenta el típico color de la piel de los mulatos. Esta madera es sumamente dura y la labor de tallado con los primitivos instrumentos de entonces debe haber sido difícil. Otros son también de madera obscura, dura, de los tantos árboles que crecen en los Yungas de La Paz. También hay algunos que son hecho de madera más blanda y más liviana, que ofrece, como el cedro, menos resistencia al tallado, pero que no puede resistir mucho la acción del tiempo. En los Yun:;,as, debido al calor y la humedad, sólo se han encontrado insignificantes restos de estas vasijas, pero en todo caso eran del mismo material y hechura que los hallados en la región lacustre. La técnica del decorado es muy interesante ya que consiste en que se profundizaba primeramente el dibujo, grabando el contorno y detalles de las figuras, y después se rellenaban las incisiones con resinas, amasadas con óxidos metálicos de las diversas clases que ofrece la cordillera andina en la sección boliviana norte y sur. Parece que esta masilla de color se ha aplicado en caliente y con una espátula de bronce, también caliente, con la que comprimían la pasta y se suavizaba la superficie del recipiente. Entre los kerus que están actualmente en las colecciones de nuestro Instituto y del Museo Nacional se hallan algunos que ostentan, en ciertos detalles, incrustaciones de color azul claro, obtenido por medio de una pasta de turquesas molidas mezcladas con resinas calientes. Este color hermoso es muy frecuente en estos artefactos. Para obtener el verde usaban los vistosos óxidos· de cobre como malaquita, atacamita, etc.; para el colorado y sus variantes empleaban cinabrio y óxidos de hierro; para el amarillo, óxidos de antimonio, para el negro, mineral de manganesia finamente molido y

26 We have discarded this word "epigonal" which has its origin in the death of the seven princes of Greece who perished in the struggle ngainst Thebs. This word has sull another meaning which has no place in American archaeology. Therefore, cverything which shows reminiscences or ideosymbologies of the great metropolis that wc are studying in this work will be designated as a "Tihuanacu substratum" or as "Tihuanncoidn".

26 Nosotros hemos desechado esta palabra "epigonal" que tiene su origen en los siete príncipes de Grecia que murieron en el combate contra Tebas. Esta palabra tiene aún otro sentido que tampoco cabe en arqueología americana. Por consiguiente todo lo que trae reminiscencias e ideosimbologías de la gran metrópoli de que trata esta obra, lo denomina· mos: "substratum Tihuanacu" o "Tihuanacoide".

-DKERUS DE MADERA DE LA ISLA DEL SOL

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T!HtTANACU--THE CRADLE OF AMERICAN l\IAN

ved, owing to the rapidity with which wood deteriorates. All of the different forms were produced by this technique. For example, there are imitations of the puma head, of other animals and of man. Also the famous khenlw kerus were made by this method. These have the form of a large keru, under which a long piece extends and on which a khenko (a line in the form of a zigzag) is carved. The phakchas were also produced in this way. One would need a whole monograph to describe all thP objects produced with inlayings in colors and metals. Those in the museum of Goteborg, Sweden, have been called Lacware by N ordenskiold. It is not at all possible to consider this an art brought by the conquistadors, as has been done. This tecnique is very old and doubtless dates from the epoch of Tihuanacu. This does not deny that perhaps sorne kerus, which show European influence, were made during the first period of the Conquest. In our opinion this influence may also come, as we have pointed out in a chapter of our work entitled "The Antiquity of Mankind in America," from people who unquestionably landed on the continent many centuries befare the Conquest. The latter assertion is one that we have proved beyond all doubt. 27 , 2 s W e wish to point out that the scenes in the drawings are done in exactly the same technique as was used later in the pen drawings of the noble Indian Phelipe Guamán Poma de Ayala who, not long after the hecatomb of Cajamarca and the treason against Atahualpa, began to write a book entitled El primer nueva coránica y buen gobierno. This book is indeed a work which begins with the genesis, in the manner of the Old Testament, then treats the prehistory of the Incas, and finally the period of the Inkario, to end with thP. fir.st period of the Conquest of which he was a witncss. Many of thP /cm i:s depict what can be considered true historical events. The investigators who make a study of folklore, whii'h to a certain extent, is still a living thing on the Andean Altiplano, in the lacustrine regions, and the islands where the great mass of the Indians are not much contaminated by the white man, can find the old legends on these pieces. The most interesting thing abcut these wooden kerus is that, just as in the case of the drawings left us by the noble Indian, Guamán Poma, they show us clearly how men and women of different social classes dressed, and shed light on our study of the polychrome weavings of the period. Even today, in sorne of the great museums of Bolivia, Peru and the United States, we find certain of these archaic garments, the uses of which are revealedy by the designs on the artifacts to be described in the next section. Thus because of the great importance of these kerus, sorne of which were also found in Cuzco and on the Peruvian coast of the Pacific, and bec:mse of the technique with which they were made, we are devoting a special section to these artifacts, so instn1ctive for the study of Americanistics. With regard to the traditions and legends of the Indians of the Altipla27 Lecture at the Hispanic lnstitute, Columbia Universtty, New York, July, 1944. 28 If many of the