Archaeological Research on the Islands of the Sun and Moon, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. P. Dearborn ◽  
Matthew T. Seddon ◽  
Brian S. Bauer

AbstractIn Inka mythology, a large sandstone rock on the Island of the Sun, in Lake Titicaca, was the origin place of the sun. It was there that the sun first emerged and designated the Inka as his children. Under Inka rule, and perhaps before, this rock was a destination of pilgrims who went to worship and make offerings to the sun. We present evidence that a set of solar markers existed on a ridge northwest of the sacred rock. These structures framed the sunset for groups of watchers on the June solstice, near the time of the sun festival, Inti Raymi. Historic information coupled with the organization of archaeological sites within the sanctuary area on the island suggests that elites and common pilgrims may have observed the sunset from different locations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Sims

Recent archaeological research now views the northwest European Neolithic and Early Bronze Age as a period of separation from a resilient complex of traditions of Mesolithic and even Palaeolithic origin. Extending this insight to recent findings in archaeoastronomy, this article treats the sarsen monument at Stonehenge as one among a number of monuments with lunar–solar alignments which privileged night over day, winter over summer, dark moon over full. The aim of the monument builders was to juxtapose, replicate and reverse certain key horizon properties of the sun and the moon, apparently with the intention of investing the sun with the moon's former religious significance. This model is consistent with both current archaeological interpretations of burial practices associated with the monument, and with recent anthropological modelling of hunter-gatherer cultural origins.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Stanish ◽  
Richard L. Burger ◽  
Lisa M. Cipolla ◽  
Michael D. Glascock ◽  
Esteban Quelima

Excavations at two sites on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca, called Ch'uxuqullu and Titinhuayani, discovered significant preceramic (ca. 2000 B. C.) through Formative period (up to ca. A. D. 400) occupations. Excavation data indicate that there was a continuous occupation from the first known settlements on the island up to the present day. The early occupations on the island were culturally linked to the populations on the mainland, as indicated by ceramic analysis and the presence of nonlocal obsidian from the Colca Valley source, 275 km to the northwest. Our excavation data also reveal that there was a brisk exchange network between the island and mainland beginning at least during the Formative period, and probably earlier during the end of the Late Archaic period. Furthermore, paleoenvironmental data indicate that the island has been isolated from the mainland during most or all of the human occupation. The Lake Titicaca region of Peru and Bolivia was characterized by a system of exchange that relied, in part, on watercraft beginning at least by 1600 B. C.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4214
Author(s):  
Chin-Cheng Yang ◽  
Chih-Chien Shen ◽  
Yu-Sheng Lin ◽  
Huai-Wei Lo ◽  
Jia-Zhi Wu

The development of sports tourism is gaining momentum around the world, with many tourism industries combining sports events and programs to attract more domestic and overseas customers to promote economic and culture. Sustainability awareness has been gaining attention from many international organizations, resulting in the rise of sports tourism that incorporates sustainability. Therefore, the development of a valid and applicable sustainable sports tourism (SST) assessment model is an important task. In this study, a hybrid Multiple Attribute Decision-Making (MADM) model is proposed to measure the development performance of SST. The aims of this study include developing a SST assessment framework, identifying the mutual influential relationships among attributes, generating attribute influence weights, and calculating the performance of the evaluated items. The proposed model is divided into three stages. First, a cause-and-effect diagram is generated using the Grey Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (GDEMATEL) to describe the interactions and feedback among the attributes. Then, the GDEMATEL-based Analytic Network Process (GDANP) is applied to generate the influence weights of the attributes and their rankings. Finally, the expanded Probability-based Grey Relational Analysis (expanded PGRA) was applied to calculate the performance of the evaluated items and to determine the gap between evaluated items and the aspiration level. This study improves the original PGRA technique by introducing the concept of aspiration level into the PGRA calculation process, thereby replacing the traditional concept of “relative satisfaction” with “aspiration level”. In addition, the expanded PGRA can assess a single rated item without being limited to at least two items. We used the Sun Moon Lake Scenic Area in Taiwan as a model demonstration. The results show that the top three attributes that need to be strengthened are disease prevention and treatment, local social welfare and protection, and sports diversity. In the Sun Moon Lake, intersection control should be set up to ensure the health status of visitors and local residents. In addition to epidemic prevention, more measures and behaviors should be developed to deal with tourism diseases. We suggested that subsidies be provided to local residents to rebuild the fences around their homes to avoid disturbances caused by the influx of tourists. Moreover, the local government can create more sports events with special characteristics that can attract tourists to come again and again.


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