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Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies

University of Arkansas

Geophysics at Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Home » Research » Geophysics » Geophysics at Tiwanaku, Bolivia

In collaboration with the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology and the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab at the University Of Pennsylvania, CAST has taken part in a multi-year project at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Tiwanaku.

Situated at an elevation of 3840 m (12,600 feet) on the Andean Altiplano of Bolivia, this archaeological site consists of numerous ancient works of monumental stone architecture constructed between 500 and 1000 AD. The goal of this project is to better understand the Tiwanaku culture and more thoroughly document their architectural remains using non-destructive and non-invasive techniques such as archaeological geophysics, high-density survey through laser scanning, and digital photogrammetry.

Geophysics at Tiwanaku
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR), magnetometry, induced electrical conductivity, and magnetic susceptibility mapping in the northeast quadrant of Tiwanaku’s monumental core has revealed a series of previously unknown architectural features. Several of these were tested with excavations and confirmed to be wall foundations and conduits. Others await subsurface testing but the synergy of geophysical data, aerial photographs, and topographic data provide strong evidence for the following features: two residential compounds, four pools for water retention, a series of conduits, revetments, and a square structure. The combination of GPR and magnetometry has proven particularly useful at Tiwanaku. While the majority of buried architectural features seem to be detected with GPR, magnetometry helps to distinguish between local building materials (mostly sandstone and other sedimentary rocks) and the ritually significant andesite imported from the shores of Lake Titicaca. The data suggest that a series of east facing revetments were built with andesite while those facing north were not, a pattern consistent elsewhere at Tiwanaku.

Geophysical Data east and northeast of Akapana: (left) Ground-penetrating radar, about six hectares; (right) magnetic gradiometry, about four hectares.

More Information
An in depth discussion of the geophysical results is given in the Tiwanaku website under Geophysics at Tiwanaku, and in a workshop paper entitled Subsurface Imaging in Tiwanaku's Monumental Core. 

Please visit the Tiwanaku website for other aspects of this project, including results of Laser scanning at Tiwanaku, digital photogrammetry of the site, and integration of the data into a unified 3D environment.