The construction techniques of the ancients South American civilizations they were from the pre-Columbian era very advanced and were developed by different peoples over the centuries. In fact, complex and elaborate buildings and constructions can be found in the city of Tiwanakuin Boliviadated between the 5th and 9th centuries ADup to the centers erected by Inca civilization (for example in Cusco, Sacsayhuamán and Machu Picchu), which prospered from the 12th to the 16th century and it was also widespread in today’s times Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. The building techniques of the Tiwanaku culture, the oldest, have had enormous importance influence on the later ones of the Incas. The secret of such mastery lay in aexcellent knowledge of geometry and mathematicsand in the use of simple but effective tools to work local stones.
Let’s start from a necessary assumption: the structures of Tiwanaku and those of Cusco they were neither built in the same historical period nor by the same civilization. The Tiwanaku culture in fact thrived around the center of the same name, today in Boliviabetween the 5th and 9th centuries, to be clear in the same period of time that corresponds to the European High Middle Ages. Cusco (today in Peru) instead it was one of the main centers of the Inca civilization, which in the period of its maximum splendor, that is at the beginning of the 16th century (shortly before contact with i conquistadors Spaniards), dominated over Andes from Colombia to Chile.
The Tiwanaku culture influenced not least that of the Inca, also with regards to construction techniques. The main center of this culture was the city of TiwanakuToday UNESCO heritagewhich is surprising for the magnificence of its architecture. The city was probably a ceremonial centeraround which numerous converged productive and commercial activities. Among the most important structures are the complex of Pumapunkucharacterized by perfectly shaped stone blocksand the Doors of the Sun and Moonalong with several statues and monoliths.
Tiwanaku craftsmen crafted these structures from individual blocks of sandstone and andesitecut, shaped and sanded to perfection. To achieve this, they were necessary excellent knowledge of geometrywhich this population possessed. They were used to cut andesite blades and chisels made of harder stonesbut also objects in bronze (pre-Columbian civilizations did not know iron). The perfect sanding was obtained using sand and waterwhile i holes in the stones they were practiced with manual drills with the tip in bronze or in stones harder than andesite. The Gate of the Sun, with its bas-reliefsrightly considered the architectural masterpiece of the ancient Tiwanaku, was even obtained from the processing of a single block of andesite.
Tiwanaku began to decay between the 11th and 12th centuries for reasons yet to be ascertained. Subsequently the territory passed to the Inca empire, which they mastered the advanced construction techniques of their predecessors. The techniques that the Tiwanaku applied to cut, smooth and shape their monoliths were adopted by the Incas for construction of the blocks which were used for the construction of theirs large buildings.
One of the best known examples of this is the famous stone of the twelve corners of Cusco. The walls of the Inca palaces (including those of the famous Macchu Picchu) needed very little use of preparations such as mortar and lime. This is because the blocks were shaped in advance just to be able to be fit together perfectly. Using simple tools such as stone or bronze chisels, but also the technique of sand and water polishing, and combining these technical skills with profound mathematical and geometric knowledge, the Incas built grandiose palaces.
