$Unique_ID{COW00433}
$Pretitle{266}
$Title{Bolivia
Bolivia's Cultural Past}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Peter McFarren}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Bolivia, Washington DC}
$Subject{altiplano

}
$Date{1989}
$Log{}
Country:     Bolivia
Book:        The Cultural Guide of Bolivia
Author:      Peter McFarren
Affiliation: Embassy of Bolivia, Washington DC
Date:        1989

Bolivia's Cultural Past

     Bolivia's prehistoric civilizations are a product of the remarkable
environment in which they evolved. The environment not only affected life
style at a fundamental level but it was the source of religious beliefs as
well. Three major natural features dominate the landscape: the Andes, the
Altiplano and Lake Titicaca. In Bolivia, the Andes, rising to several
majestic peaks of more than 5,000 meters, divides to form two separate ranges,
the Cordillera Occidental in the west and the Cordillera Oriental, the wider
eastern section. Between these barriers lies the Altiplano or high plateau, an
enormous flat expanse averaging over 13,000 feet in altitude. The Altiplano is
shaped like a huge oval, widest in the center, and is the largest plateau
of its kind in the Andes. To the north of the Altiplano and lying beneath the
two Andean chains is Lake Titicaca, a body of water so large it creates the
impression of an immense ocean in the sky. Coupled  with snow-capped mountain
peaks in the distance, the landscape has created a spiritual metaphor to human
existence, one understood by native peoples to the present day.

Viscachani and Early Man Sites

     The Altiplano, though a seemingly inhospitable environment, has been home
to varied native cultures from early times. Beginning towards the end of the
last glacial period around B.C. 7000-8000, human occupation  has been
detected through the non-perishable artifacts left behind. Worked stone tools,
usually in the form of projectile points, have been  discovered throughout the
Bolivian Altiplano. Evidently, early man arrived hunting wild herds of
camelids (llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas) which flourished in the
area.