Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca

Back in the blogging saddle again!  With the recent release of the Kindle Edition of Pieces of the Puzzle and the second book of the Timekeeper Series due to be released this summer, we are busy promoting ourselves!  Our Facebook page has been updated, our Website has been overhauled, and now the blog has been reincarnated. 

One of the places you can expect to read about in Book Two is Lake Titicaca, an Andean Lake that borders Peru and Bolivia, and the cradle of ancient Peruvian civilization.  The Island is spotted with over 40 artificial islands made by the native Uro people out of totora reeds.  The islands were originally made for defensive purposes.  They are anchored to the bottom of the lake, but can be moved if necessary.  Since they are in a constant state of decay, a new layer of reeds has to be added every few months.  It is not known when the islands were originally created, so we felt comfortable using them in our story.



Totora Reed Houses



The Andes were home to the Incas.  Lacking a written language, the Incas passed on their creation stories orally.  The story or “myth” that we took license with in the book tells how the god Viracocha created the eight Ayer brothers and sisters who emerged from a cave near Lake Titicaca and went on a long journey to find a place to settle.  One of the brothers, Ayer Atchi, had powers that threatened his brothers.  They deceived him into returning to the cave from which they were born and trapped him inside.  The siblings, with the exception of one other brother who was turned to stone, resumed their travels and ended up in the Cusco Valley where they built their home.

Viracocha

Near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca, lie the ruins of Tiwanaku, an ancient temple complex.  A conservative estimate says the place was probably inhabited as early as 1500 BC, while more liberal archaeologists say it could be one of the oldest ruins in the world. Tiwanaku used to sit at the edge of the lake, the subset ruins of Puma Punku are even suspected to be a harbor, but the lake has receded to such a level that nearly twelve miles separate the two now.

Tiwanaku

The megalithic stones used to create Tiwanaku stand as a stark contrast to the reeds the natives built boats and islands out of.  One block is estimated to weigh 440 tons and was quarried a full ten miles away.  It is still a mystery as to how the ancient people transported the stones or even built the complex.

Gate of the Sun

To learn more about Tiwanaku, visit the Unesco World Heritage site:  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/567/

or Archaeology Magazine's Interactive Dig: http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/tiwanaku/