Tiwanaku centers further depopulated

1240

Across the high altiplano around Lake Titicaca, the last remnants of the Tiwanaku ritual complex were absorbed by local herding communities. The great monolithic gateways and sunken courts stood silent. Aymara-speaking polities emerged in their place. The carved Gateway of the Sun, with its enigmatic central figure staring eastward, would puzzle archaeologists and travelers for centuries before anyone attempted to decode its iconography.