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Discoveries
Phase1
The Unearthing of the Chachapumas
The first of the expedition's discoveries were made at
Iruhito, located 20 km south of Lake Titicaca. Here, while
in conversation with the villagers the explorers discovered
that some local people had struck stone while ploughing
a field. On digging the field the expedition's members
discovered two chachapumas or 'man-pumas".
A chachapuma is a stone figurine of a kneeling man with
a head of a puma, carved in andesite and about the size
of a rugby ball. The man's right hand, cut in relief down
the side of the figurine, holds an axe while his left
hand holds a severed head. Two other such chachapumas
were also found at the pyramid at Tiwanaku.
It is said that an ancient city once existed around Iruhito.
The city is believed to have been divided into two parts.
One part located close to the River Desaguadero was a
domestic site, where the people would fish and where trade
would come in from upstream. The other part consisted
of a ceremonial mound where various rituals are believed
to have taken place. The two chachapumas were found in
the area where the ceremonial mound is located.
Cities
of the Eagle Men
Up the Mauri River, to the west of Calacoto,
the horizon is dominated by a series of flat topped tablelands
or Mesas. In 1997 two members of the expedition had climbed
one of the mesas, the Thia Phasa, which in Aymara means
"small mountain".
During phase 1 of Kota Mama, the expedition decided to
investigate Taypi Phasa, the "medium mountain". Blended
into the natural stone ramparts ringing the mesa were
massive sections of dry stone walling, creating a virtually
impregnable fortress. On entering through one of the wall's
openings the expedition discovered a number of stone houses
shaped like old fashioned bee-hives, built up from irregularly
cut stones held together by rough mortar. Each house had
a small door but no windows or chimneys. From the narrowness
of the doors it was obvious that these were not dwelling
places.
On examination it was discovered that each of the houses
contained remnants of human bones, although no skulls
were present. It was obviously a burial chamber. These
burial houses or chulpas are believed to have been built
by the Pakajes. Pakajes means Eagle Men in Aymara and
they are said to have lived in the period between the
Tiwanaku empire around 1175 and the the Inca in 1420.
The chulpas were believed to have been arranged in clan
groups where two or three houses situated together would
be occupied by the same family.
A tunnel was also discovered which ran right across the
mesa from one end to the other but since it was inaccessible
it was difficult to determine what it could have been
used for.
An
Inca Chapel
The expedition moved South of the Mauri river on hearing
that there were more mesas and chulpas in this region.
At the bottom of a valley the explorers discovered a chapel
dating back to Inca times, which had subsequently been
Christianised. It was full of artefacts from the colonial
period. The interior walls were whitewashed and covered
with Lowry-like sketches of companies of Spanish soldiers.
Two brass bells lay on a small table - one from the times
of the Incas and the other from the Christians.
The
Chulpas of Chosi Kani
The expedition also visited Chosi Kani, another imposing
mesa, near the River Mauri. They traveled through a tunnel
to find 52 more chulpas or burial chambers. Each chulpa
however contained more bodies than those found at Taypi
Phasa. These chambers also contained human skulls along
with the other bones. Each chulpa had rolls of basket
work, which were stained and folded. These baskets are
believed to be canastas or woven containers in which the
corpses were interred in a foetal position.
Pucara's
Painted Tombs
At the foot of Pucara, another mesa in the region around
the River Mauri, the expedition found a number of painted
tombs. The first was a spectacular stone cube, over 2m
in all directions, whose walls were plastered over and
painted in pale pink. Under the tomb's flat projecting
roof a frieze of interlocking red and green triangles
ran around the three exposed walls. The tomb contained
remains of human bodies. A second house was located nearby
with a symbolic design in black on the massive dressed
stones of its façade. 200 metres further was a small white
painted tomb with exotic designs.
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