Situated at 3,850 meters on the Altiplano near Lake Titicaca, Tiwanaku was the capital of a pre-Inca empire that controlled the southern Andes from 300-1000 CE. The Gateway of the Sun — carved from a single andesite block weighing 10 tonnes — features the Weeping God (Viracocha) surrounded by 48 figures encoding a sophisticated solar-lunar calendar with 11 months of 24 days plus a sacred intercalary period. H-shaped blocks at the Puma Punku temple complex are cut with such precision that they interlock like modern modular construction — granite and diorite shaped to tolerances of fractions of a millimeter without metal tools. At Giza bearing 62.89° and aligned to solstice and precession cycles, Tiwanaku's elevation places it above the effective limit of conventional agriculture, yet it sustained a population of 30,000 through raised-field (suka kollus) farming that NASA thermal imaging has confirmed outperforms modern methods.
WikipediaStellar Alignments (76 stars)
| Star ▴ | Rise Az ▴ | Rise Δ ▴ | Set Az ▴ | Set Δ ▴ | Tradition ▴ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphecca | 62.0° | 0.9° | 298.0° | 124.9° | |
| Bharani (41 Arietis) | 61.5° | 1.4° | 298.5° | 124.3° | |
| Pleiades (Alcyone) | 64.8° | 1.9° | 295.2° | 127.7° | |
| Pollux | 60.6° | 2.3° | 299.4° | 123.5° | |
| Scheat | 60.6° | 2.3° | 299.4° | 123.5° | |
| Hamal | 65.5° | 2.6° | 294.5° | 128.3° | |
| Alpheratz | 59.5° | 3.4° | 300.5° | 122.4° | |
| Kornephoros | 67.5° | 4.6° | 292.5° | 130.4° | |
| Pushya (Gamma Cancri) | 67.5° | 4.7° | 292.4° | 130.4° | |
| Castor | 56.6° | 6.3° | 303.4° | 119.5° | |
| Arcturus | 70.0° | 7.1° | 290.0° | 132.8° | |
| Aldebaran | 72.8° | 9.9° | 287.3° | 135.7° | |
| Alhena | 72.9° | 10.0° | 287.1° | 135.8° | |
| Markab | 74.1° | 11.2° | 285.9° | 137.0° | |
| Denebola | 74.8° | 11.9° | 285.2° | 137.7° | |
| Rasalgethi | 75.0° | 12.1° | 285.0° | 137.9° | |
| Vega | 49.2° | 13.7° | 310.8° | 112.1° | |
| Rasalhague | 76.9° | 14.0° | 283.1° | 139.8° | |
| Regulus | 77.5° | 14.6° | 282.5° | 140.4° | |
| Vindemiatrix | 78.6° | 15.7° | 281.4° | 141.4° | |
| Algol | 46.9° | 16.0° | 313.1° | 109.7° | |
| Enif | 79.7° | 16.8° | 280.3° | 142.6° | |
| Altair | 80.7° | 17.9° | 279.3° | 143.6° | |
| Betelgeuse | 82.3° | 19.4° | 277.7° | 145.2° | |
| Unukalhai | 83.3° | 20.4° | 276.7° | 146.2° | |
| Bellatrix | 83.4° | 20.5° | 276.6° | 146.3° | |
| Deneb | 42.2° | 20.7° | 317.8° | 105.0° | |
| Capella | 41.4° | 21.5° | 318.6° | 104.3° | |
| Procyon | 84.5° | 21.7° | 275.4° | 147.4° | |
| Alkaid | 37.7° | 25.2° | 322.3° | 100.6° | |
| Mirfak | 37.1° | 25.8° | 322.9° | 100.0° | |
| Mintaka | 90.3° | 27.4° | 269.7° | 153.2° | |
| Sadalmelik | 90.3° | 27.4° | 269.7° | 153.2° | |
| Eltanin | 35.3° | 27.6° | 324.7° | 98.2° | |
| Orion Belt (Alnilam) | 91.3° | 28.4° | 268.8° | 154.1° | |
| Alnitak | 92.0° | 29.1° | 268.0° | 154.9° | |
| Mizar | 31.4° | 31.5° | 328.6° | 94.3° | |
| Sadalsuud | 95.8° | 32.9° | 264.2° | 158.7° | |
| Schedar | 29.5° | 33.4° | 330.5° | 92.4° | |
| Rigel | 98.6° | 35.7° | 261.4° | 161.4° | |
| Alphard | 99.0° | 36.1° | 261.0° | 161.9° | |
| Zubeneschamali | 99.8° | 36.9° | 260.2° | 162.7° | |
| Saiph | 100.1° | 37.2° | 259.9° | 163.0° | |
| Spica | 101.7° | 38.8° | 258.4° | 164.5° | |
| Dubhe | 23.2° | 39.7° | 336.8° | 86.1° | |
| Thuban | 19.8° | 43.1° | 340.2° | 82.7° | |
| Sabik | 106.4° | 43.5° | 253.6° | 169.3° | |
| Zubenelgenubi | 106.8° | 43.9° | 253.3° | 169.7° | |
| Sirius | 107.5° | 44.6° | 252.5° | 170.4° | |
| Murzim | 108.8° | 45.9° | 251.2° | 171.7° | |
| Diphda | 108.8° | 45.9° | 251.2° | 171.7° | |
| Nunki | 117.5° | 54.6° | 242.5° | 179.6° | |
| Wezen | 117.6° | 54.7° | 242.4° | 179.5° | |
| Antares | 117.7° | 54.8° | 242.3° | 179.4° | |
| Adhara | 120.3° | 57.5° | 239.7° | 176.8° | |
| Fomalhaut | 121.0° | 58.1° | 239.0° | 176.1° | |
| Phact | 125.8° | 62.9° | 234.2° | 171.3° | |
| Kaus Australis | 126.1° | 63.2° | 233.9° | 171.0° | |
| Menkent | 128.2° | 65.3° | 231.8° | 168.9° | |
| Shaula | 129.0° | 66.1° | 231.0° | 168.1° | |
| Naos | 132.1° | 69.2° | 227.9° | 165.0° | |
| Ankaa | 134.6° | 71.7° | 225.4° | 162.5° | |
| Suhail | 135.8° | 72.9° | 224.2° | 161.3° | |
| Regor | 140.1° | 77.2° | 219.9° | 157.0° | |
| Canopus | 146.1° | 83.2° | 213.9° | 151.0° | |
| Alsephina | 148.4° | 85.5° | 211.6° | 148.7° | |
| Peacock | 150.7° | 87.8° | 209.3° | 146.4° | |
| Gacrux | 151.2° | 88.3° | 208.8° | 145.9° | |
| Achernar | 151.3° | 88.4° | 208.7° | 145.8° | |
| Avior | 154.0° | 91.1° | 206.0° | 143.1° | |
| Mimosa (Becrux) | 154.2° | 91.3° | 205.8° | 142.9° | |
| Hadar | 155.1° | 92.2° | 204.9° | 142.0° | |
| Rigil Kentaurus | 155.7° | 92.8° | 204.3° | 141.5° | |
| Acrux | 158.5° | 95.6° | 201.5° | 138.6° | |
| Atria | 166.9° | 104.0° | 193.1° | 130.2° | |
| Miaplacidus | 168.1° | 105.2° | 191.9° | 129.0° |
Convergence Events (7)
62.0°
Alphecca Rise
Celtic (Caer Arianrhod), Arabic, Aboriginal, Pawnee (council ring)
Δ 0.9°
61.5°
Bharani (41 Arietis) Rise
Hindu/Vedic (death/rebirth nakshatra), IAU named
Δ 1.4°
64.8°
Pleiades (Alcyone) Rise
Maya, Greek, Aboriginal, Hindu (Krittika), Japanese (Subaru)
Δ 1.9°
60.6°
Pollux Rise
Greek (Dioscuri), Hindu (Punarvasu), Chinese, Arabic
Δ 2.3°
60.6°
Scheat Rise
Hindu (Purva Bhadrapada), Arabic, Chinese, Persian
Δ 2.3°
65.5°
Hamal Rise
Babylonian, Arabic (the ram), Hindu, Chinese
Δ 2.6°
65.5°
Summer Solstice Sunrise
Universal
Δ 2.6°
Reference Bearings (20 landmarks)
| Landmark | Bearing | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| giza | 62.89° | 11,841 km |
| angkor wat | 112.56° | 19,141 km |
| nazca | 285.76° | 707 km |
| teotihuacan | 319.55° | 5,207 km |
| stonehenge | 35.20° | 9,917 km |
| gobekli tepe | 56.04° | 12,651 km |
| machu picchu | 311.68° | 561 km |
| easter island | 247.15° | 4,339 km |
| cahokia | 340.54° | 6,531 km |
| sedona | 322.05° | 7,306 km |
| mecca | 73.24° | 12,541 km |
| jerusalem | 61.59° | 12,256 km |
| vatican | 47.54° | 10,519 km |
| lhasa | 51.13° | 17,493 km |
| kailash | 56.53° | 16,578 km |
| uluru | 205.03° | 14,890 km |
| tiwanaku | 0.00° | 0 km |
| chaco canyon | 325.42° | 7,161 km |
| mt shasta | 321.47° | 8,471 km |
| levis stadium | 318.41° | 8,186 km |
Related Sites — Ley Line — Earth Grid