Strangest Mysteries of the World and Beyond !

Puma Punku

Puma Punku

Spectacular in its own right, the Great Pyramid is, yet it pales in comparison to the ruins of Puma Punku in Tiahuanaco, in South America.

Tiahuanaco is in Bolivia, up in the Titicaca Basin, about 10 kilometers away from the great Lake Titicaca. The Titicaca Basin is high; 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) above sea level. Half is in Peru and half is in Bolivia, and right on the border sits Lake Titicaca. It's in a vast region of the Andes Mountains called the Altiplano, or "high plain", the largest such plain outside of the Himalayas.

The Tiahuanaco Culture predated the Inca, and their history is known largely from archaeology, since they had no written language that we know of. The earliest evidence of habitation dates from around 400 BC, but it wasn't until about 500 AD that the Tiahuanaco Culture truly developed. At its peak, 400,000 people lived in and around the Tiahuanaco site, centering on Puma punku and other important structures.

The ruins of Puma Punku are one of four structures in the ancient city of Tiahuanaco. The others three structures are; The Akapana Pyramid, the Kalasasaya Platform, and the Subterranean Temple.

Even with modern day technology and information, these structures defy logic, and confound those who seek to solve the mysteries that lie within them. The ruins of Puma Punku are said to be the most fascinating, and most confusing of all.

What Makes The Ruins Unique?

It is highly unlikely that any of the stones in Puma Punku were cut using ancient stone cutting techniques, at least not those that we are aware of.

The stones in Puma Punku are made up of granite, and diorite, and the only stone that is harder that those two, is the diamond. If the people who built this place cut these stones using stone cutting techniques, then they would had to have used diamond tools.

If they didn't use diamonds to cut these stones, then what did they use?

Not only were these stones really hard to cut, but they are also extremely heavy. One of these stone ruins weighs in at about 800 tons! These are big stones, and they are really heavy. The nearest quarry is at least 10 miles away from the site of the ruins. How in the world did these people move these blocks that weighed many tons, and how were they able to form a structure with them?

With the technology that we currently have today, it would be extremely difficult to recreate the site of these ruins, if possible at all. If we can't do it, then how did these ancient people accomplish this task? This could have taken place anywhere from 500 b.c. all the way back to the Ice Age.

The largest of these stone blocks is 7.81 meters long, 5.17 meters wide, averages 1.07 meters thick, and is estimated to weigh about 131 metric tons. The second largest stone block found within the Pumapunka is 7.90 meters long, 2.50 meters wide, and averages 1.86 meters thick. Its weight has been estimated to be 85.21 metric tons. Both of these stone blocks are part of the Plataforma Lítica and composed of red sandstone. Based upon detailed petrographic and chemical analyses of samples from both individual stones and known quarry sites, archaeologists concluded that these and other red sandstone blocks were transported up a steep incline from a quarry near Lake Titicaca roughly 10 km away. Smaller andesite blocks that were used for stone facing and carvings came from quarries within the Copacabana Peninsula about 90 km away from and across Lake Titicaca from the Pumapunka and the rest of the Tiwanaku Site.

These ancient people had to have been very sophisticated, knowing astronomy, geomancy, and mathematics. However, there are no records of this work. To build a place like Puma Punku, there must have been significant planning, and writing involved, but there is no record of any of this.

There is one more significant thing to mention regarding the ruins of Puma Punku. Not only were these stones cut somehow, but they were finely cut. The cuts on these stones are perfectly straight. The holes cored into these stones are perfect, and all of equal depth.

How is it that these ancient people were able to cut stones like this?

It is as if only master builders were allowed to come in and construct Puma Punku. All of the blocks are cut so that they interlock, and fit together like a puzzle. There is no mortar. There are only great stones that once fit together creating a structure some four levels high.

If these people could have moved these large stones to this precise location, then obviously they also had a way to place them one on top of another, but how in the world was this accomplished?

There is no answer to that question.

No one knows who designed and built this complex of sophisticated inter-locking blocks, and then vanished. Researchers investigate the ruins on-location in Peru and present new computer analyses.

Forensic evidence on the ground, together with local myths and legends, suggest this site may have been designed and even once inhabited by a species of extraterrestrials.

One suggestion has been made that there had to have been some kind of ancient aliens who interceded on humanity's behalf, and our ancestors learned how to do all of this from them.

There are actual records of mythical origin, regarding gods and the part that they took in the creation of these places. Not sure how we have certain mythical records, yet no records of plans or writing that contributed to the creation of these places?

Another suggestion, is that a cataclysmic event such as a flood, wiped out these ancient peoples along with any records they may have kept. There is some evidence to support this suggestion. Perhaps these ancient people were technologically advanced at some point, and all but a few were wiped out by a major flood. The remnant would have had to start civilization all over again, and of course the ancient records would be lost.

Did they have advanced technology similar to ours, and then die off?

Maps have been found that would seem to support this theory. Maps such as the Piri Reis (1513), and the Oronteus Finaeus (1531), have been found that pre-date European discoveries. Not only are these maps precise, but they seem to claim that they are copies from even older maps.

These maps show the coastline of South America, rivers, and even part of Antarctica which was not thought to have been mapped until 1818. These maps contain landmarks, as well as depictions of the areas which appear to be very accurate. Some people don't believe that these maps could have been made without flying over these areas in the sky.

Till the time, it clears up. This just adds on to be yet another unsolved mystery.