The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part VI

Tiwanaku was designed with a temple and a fortress, a palace, and other buildings within a rock perimeter wall. The fortress stands to the southwest of the Temple, the sides of the two coinciding in their bearings, and is 64 feet distant from it. It is now a great mound of earth, originally rectangular in shape, 620 feet in length and 450 in width, and about 50 feet high. It is much disfigured by the operations of treasure-seekers, who have dug into its sides and made great excavations from the summit, so that it now resembles rather a huge, natural, shapeless heap of earth than a work of human hands.

The remaining stones that environed it, and which the destroyers have spared, enable archaeologists to make out its original shape and proportions. There are distinct evidences that the body of the mound was terraced, for there are still standing stones at different elevations, distant horizontally nine, eighteen, and thirty feet from the base. There may have been more terraces than these lines of stones would indicate, but it is certain that there were at least three before reaching the summit, which coincides with what Garcilasso wrote of the mound when first visited by the Spaniards. He said of these ruins, "Among them there is a mountain or hill raised by hand, which, on this account, is most admirable. In order that the piled-up earth should not be washed away and the hill leveled, it was supported by great walls of stone. No one knows for what purpose this edifice was raised." Cieza de Leon, who himself visited Tiahuanuco soon after the Conquest, gave substantially the same description of the so-called Fortress.

On the summit of this structure are sections of the foundations of rectangular buildings, partly undermined, and partly covered up by the earth from the great modern excavation in the centre, which is upwards of 300 feet in diameter, and more than 60 feet deep. All over the Fortress and on its slopes lie large and regular blocks of stone, sculptured with portions of elaborate designs, which would only appear when the blocks were fitted together.

To the southeast of the Fortress, and about two hundred and fifty paces distant, is a long line of wall in ruins, apparently a single wall, not connected with any other so as to form an enclosure. But beyond it are the remains of edifices of which it is now impossible to form more than approximate plans. One was measurably perfect when visited by D'Orbigny in 1833, who fortunately has left a plan of it, more carefully made than others he has given us of ruins here or elsewhere.

Since 1833, however, the builders of Catholic cathedrals and buildings, unable to remove the massive stones composing the base of what was called the Hall of Justice, mined them, and blew them up with gunpowder, removing many of the elaborately cut fragments to pave the cathedral of La Paz. Enough remains, however, to prove the accuracy of D'Orbigny's plan, and to verify what Cieza de Leon wrote concerning these particular remains three hundred years ago.

The structure called the Hall of Justice occupied one end of a court something like that discoverable in the Temple. It was in the form of a rectangle, 420 feet long by 370 broad, defined by a wall of cut stones, supporting on three sides an interior platform of earth 130 feet broad, itself enclosing a sunken area, or court, also defined by a wall of cut stones. This court, at the general level of the plain, is 240 feet long and 160 feet wide. At its eastern end was a massive edifice called the Hall of Justice, of which D'Orbigny said: "It is a kind of platform of well-cut blocks of stone, held together by copper clamps, of which only the traces remain. It presents a level surface elevated six feet above the ground, 131 feet long and 23 broad, formed of enormous stones, eight making the length and two the breadth.

“Some of these stones are 25 ½ feet long by 14 feet broad, and 6 ½ feet thick—probably the ones Oiego de Leon measured slightly larger. Some are rectangular in shape, others of irregular form. On the eastern side of the platform, and cut in the stones of which they form part, are three groups of alcoves, or seats. One group occupies the central part of the monument, covering an extent of fifty-three feet, and is divided into seven compartments. A group of three compartments occupies each extremity of the monument. Between the central and side groups were reared monolithic doorways, similar in some respects to the large one, only more simple, the one to the west alone having a sculptured frieze similar to that of the great gateway.

“In front of this structure, to the west, and about twenty feet distant, is a wall remarkable for the fine cutting of its stones, which are a blackish basalt and very hard. The stones are all of equal dimensions, having a groove running around them, and each has a niche cut in it with absolute precision. Everything goes to show that the variety of the forms of the niches was one of the great ornaments of the walls, for on all sides we find stones variously cut, and evidently intended to fit together so as to form architectural ornaments."

As Nephi said, “I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance” (2 Nephi 5:15)

The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part V

As shown in the last posts, modern scientists claim Tiwanaku is 15,000 years old based upon their findings of animal depictions, ancient seashore lines, seaport wharves and docks, and misalignment of astronomical sightings. However, as stated in the last post, there is a simpler, far more accurate understanding of these findings than to create an unknown and unproven event thousands of years ago in a so-called Pleistocene extinction and sinking of Atlantis.

First of all, animal depictions of a so-called Pleistoceneera Cuverionius, called a toxodon, is highly imaginative, and in drawings of the ancient Peruvians look as much like an elephant as any other animal known to man. However, since elephants are not a common idea to the Andean area, scientists look for some extinct animal rather than a more common elephant—the animal the Jaredites brought to the Land of Promise. Of course, we do not know exactly what the Jaredite elephants looked like, and may have been some early from of the later animal we know, just as the camelids llama and alpaca are another form of the camel.

Secondly, the tilted seashore lines, the seaport and wharves, are more easily identified with the fact that Tiwanaku was once a seaport at sea level, where the Atlantic Ocean, as Charles Darwin claimed, reached the eastern side of what is now the Andes, which according to him, were at sea level in very recent times. Thus, Tiwanaku was a seaport where hundreds of ships could dock, the wharves built of solid rock slabs now scattered over the landscape. From here the Nephites in early times could have sailed along the East Sea in “their shipping” (Helaman 3:14).

Thirdly, this leads to the understanding that Tiwanaku, once at sea level and now at 12,500 feet, was part of the cataclysm depicted in 3 Nephi when a 3-hour earthquake struck the area and the Andes mountains, “whose height is great” were raised to their present height and the land beyond, which was once underwater, to lift the full continent of South America out of the sea and form the present configuration of the land. While geologists all agree that at one time the area east of the Andes was once under water, and the deep sea drilling rig Glomar Challenger proved that the Isthmus of Panama was once not connected to South America above water, the difference is in the time frame. The book “Scientific Fallacies and Other Myths” shows conclusively how these time periods match the occurrences described in 3 Nephi.

This two-mile movement upward of Tiwanaku obviously threw structures out of alignment, as well as toppling blocks of stone weighing over 100 tons, and some over 200 tons, leaving them scattered over the ground. For this cataclysm to have happened, the geologic lifting of the land east of the present Andes would have caused a tidal wave of some proportions moving inland toward what was the shore of the East Sea, flooding cities and villages along the eastern shore of the land, such as Jerusalem, Onihah and Mocum, which were covered with water (3 Nephi 9:7). This also shows why Tiwanaku was covered with lime deposits and silt, and how a gigantic wave struck the entire city, without having to create an unknown cataclysmic event during some so-called prehistoric period.

Finally, if Tiwanaku is the city depicted in the Book of Mormon as Jerusalem, it matches the events described by archaeologists that befell Tiwanaku.

(See the next post, “The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part VI,” to see the construction and placement of the city complex)

The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part IV

There have been numerous investigations of Tiwanaku, most of which result in a confusion of understanding as to how certain things exist there. First, at what is called the Temple of Kalasasaya—“Place of the Vertical Stones”—with its 12-foot tall columns jutting upward at intervals in astronomical observation alignments, is considered an observatory. The columns, which were carved into human figures, are now out of specific alignment causing some to think the ruins are very ancient.

In addition, there are carvings of ancient animals considered extinct, lime sediment on the ruins showing their submersion in ocean water, and the effects of a huge tidal wave that washed over the entire area. All of this, including an ancient, tilted oceanic shoreline and the paradox of an ancient seaport, complete with wharves and docking ports, have suggested to archaeologists that this area is 15,000 years old. These archaeologists discovered alignments with the sun which were slightly "out of true," but which lined up perfectly once the sky-charts were moved back in time, which led to intensive astronomical studies.

Since Earth is tilted on its axis in respect to the plane of the solar system, the resulting angle is known as the "obliqueness of the ecliptic." If viewed from the earth, the planets of our solar system travel across the sky in a line called the “plane of the ecliptic.” At present our earth is tilted at an angle of 23 degrees and 27 minutes, but this angle is not constant. The angle oscillates slowly between 22 degrees and 1 minute minimum to an extreme of 24 degrees and 5 minutes. A complete cycle takes roughly 41,000 years to complete. The alignment of the Kalasasaya temple depicts a tilt of the earth's axis amounting to 23 degrees, 8 minutes, 48 seconds, which according to astronomers, indicates a date of 15,000 B.C. And as recently as the 1990’s, Oswaldo Rivera, the Director of Bolivian National Institute of Archaeology, along with archaeoastronomer Professor Neil Steede, have come to agree that Tiahanacu is at least 12,000 years old.

The earlier conventional practice of dating Tiahuanacu as beginning about 200 A.D. and collapsing about 1000 A.D. started with Wendell Bennett's excavations, which turned up numerous examples of pottery, small statues and other artifacts. Since it is common for later arrivals to be awed by massive ruins (sometimes attributing their origin to supernatural beings, thus replicating the "sacred" images on their own pottery and textiles), it is often a mistake to fuse the two cultures into one, implying that the later arrivals were the same people who built the original ruins—such as the Inca being the builders of ancient Andean ruins. It appears that Bennett and his successors were all guilty of such an error, for many observable indicators show Tiwanaku much older, dating at least into the first millennium B.C.

Yet, other archaeologists and investigators than Bennett, including Dr. Hans Ludendorff (Director of the Astronomical Observatory of Potsdam), Friedrich Becker of the Specula Vaticana, Prof. Arnold Kohlschutter (astronomer at Bonn University), and Rolf Müller (astronomer of the Institute of Astrophysics at Potsdam), verified the accuracy of these alignment findings between 1927 and 1930.

These findings claim that there is only one solution that can satisfy all of the mysteries regarding the ruins of Tiahuanacu, which is none other than the geological cataclysm which affected the entire globe geologically and climatically, causing the Pleistocene extinction and the sinking of Atlantis. Thus, if Tiahuanacu was built before the end of the last Ice Age, then the depiction of the numerous Pleistocene animals (extinct for 12,000 years) are readily explainable. The other indications of the apparent age of the city (tilted seashore lines, lime deposits and silt) would then harmonize with the astronomical alignments built into the buildings, which suggest that Posnansky's original conclusions were correct.

But this complicated assumption is not the only answer. In fact, a far simpler answer is readily available that shows Tiwanaku is not 15,000 years old, but more like 2,500 years old. And the answer is found in the Book of Mormon.

(See the next post, “The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part V,” the origination of Tiwanaku and why scientists have miscalculated and misinterpreted their findings)

The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part III

In 1934 Peruvianist Wendell C. Bennett carried out several excavations at Tiahuanacu. Excavating in the Subterranean Temple, he found two large stone images. One was a bearded statue with large round eyes, a straight narrow nose and oval mouth. Rays of lightning are carved on the forehead. The statue stands over 7 feet tall with arms crossed over an ankle-length tunic, which is decorated with pumas around the hem. Serpents ascend the figure on each side, reminding one of the Feathered Serpent culture-hero known as Quetzalcoatl in Central America. Strange animals resembling elephants are carved up around the head. In addition a 24-foot tall statue was also uncovered, which was sculpted out of red sandstone and was covered with images of various kinds.

A view (above) of the semi-subterranean temple where the largest statue was found. In the center are three stelae. This monolithic work has a number of designs scattered over its surface, many of which resemble the running winged-figures found on the Gate of the Sun, only with curled tails. Also the "Weeping god" is depicted on the sides of the head of the statue. This is in addition to the tears already depicted on the cheeks of the monolith's face. The Weeping god seems to be a major theme at Tiwanaku, but no one knows why this ancient diety was depicted as sad. However, according to Moses, writing about Enoch, the Lord wept (Moses 7:28) because his creations “are without affection, and they hate their own blood” (Moses 7:33). An image of a weeping God at Tiwanaku is certainly in keeping with the scriptures.

Other designs, although very artistic, are difficult for archaeologists to describe. Another large stone statue, usually called simply "the idol," stands in the southwest corner of the Kalasasaya Temple. With the exception of the Sun Gate, it is the most picturesque of the sculptures at Tiwanaku, since its 7-foot height is almost covered with hieroglyphic-like carvings. No one knows if these carvings represent a form of writing or are merely decorative—much like the carvings found in Mesoamerica until they were deciphered as writing. Should these carvings prove to be a form of symbolic writing, what a story they might tell!

It would also show why writing survived in Tiwanaku and not elsewhere because at the time of the Lamanite conquest of the Nephites, Tiwanaku, which before the destruction described in 3 Nephi when the city was on the coastal area of the East Sea, it was now at 12,500 feet up in the risen Andes and undoubtedly inaccessible and unknown to the Lamanites. Still another statue popularly known as “El Fraile” is almost devoid of carvings. There are numerous other statues, which have been found at Tiwanaku, several of which have found their way into various museums.

Most of these statues have the incomprehensible stiff designs scattered about on their surfaces in the typical Tiwanaku style. Some are rather large, and others are small. Depictions of elephants and several other creatures are shown on their surfaces. Images of these animals are understandably reproduced on pottery and textiles. Obviously, living animals were used as a guide for the carvings, thus such animals, as elephants, were alive and known to the artisans.

In addition, the traces of an ancient shoreline have convinced those who have studied Tiwanaku to realize that it was once at sea level, and the seaport wharfs verify this fact. There is also traces that the ruins were covered by a thin layer of lime deposits, indicating they had been underwater for a period of time. Also, certain parts of the ruins were deeply buried in sediments, which indicated that a stupendous wave of water had washed over the entire area (the altiplano where the ruins now rest is almost totally devoid of rain).

(See next post, “The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part IV,” for further information of this Nephite city built in the Land of Nephi during the 400 years between Nephi founding the area, and when Mosiah I left it)

The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part II

The blocks tossed around at Tiwanaku by the earthquake, storms and tumultulous events described in 3 Nephi, were enormous in size, many weighing upwards of 200 tons, and in some cases held together by large metallic, I-shaped couplers, rather than interlocking shapes as at Sacsahuaman in Cuzco. Other blocks were held together by silver rivets. The system used here is reminiscent of that used in the Egyptian ruins on Elephantine Island on the Nile. Most researchers believe that the metal was actually poured into I-shaped slots carved into the rock.

One of several large meticulously carved Andesite blocks at the Tiwanaku seaport called Puma Punku.

At Tiwanaku, the ancient Nephite city that was once along the East Sea just south of the City of Lehi-Nephi in the Land of Nephi, the ancient sea port wharfs are about a quarter of a mile or so northeast of the temples, pyramids and palaces of the main city. Recent excavation shows evidence of a population of 30,000 to 40,000 people. The main part of the city consists of several buildings, with the placement and proximity of the Acapana Pyramid, the Kalasasaya, the semi-Subterranean Temple, and a so-called "Palace,” indicating they were components of a ceremonial center.

Map of the ceremonial center of Tiahuanacu

The Acapana Pyramid is a step pyramid—like the ones in Egypt and Mesoamerica—and is aligned perfectly with the cardinal directions. It originally had a covering of smooth Andesite stone, but 90% of that has disappeared. The ruinous state of the pyramid is due to its being used as a stone quarry for later religious buildings by the Catholic Church at La Paz, and for breaking up into road base by the Peruvian railroad, who destroyed most of the huge blocks the Spaniards said were still standing as walls and buildings when they arrived.

An 1833 drawing of what was left of the walls after the railroad broke up many and used for their nearby railroad base

The interior of the pyramid is honeycombed with shafts in a complicated grid pattern, which incorporates a system of weirs used to direct water from a tank on top, going through a series of levels, and finally ending up in a stone canal surrounding the pyramid. The function of this hydraulic system is baffling to archeologists, who have drummed up a number of theoretical explanations, however, the Lord’s people have always used irrigation to turn arid places into gardens.

In addition, figures flanking the centerpiece are themselves unfinished, leading investigators to wonder what could have interrupted the craftsmen working on the gate that it was left unfinished. How did this ancient monolith get broken in half, and why was it lying askew deep in silt until restored to its proper position in 1908. In fact, all the ruins were covered in a deep layer of muddy silt until excavated and partially restored. While scientists believe some geologically significant event must have occurred which left these ruins in such disorder, the Book of Mormon makes that event crystal clear in 3 Nephi. When those earthquakes occurred that “changed all the face of the land” and lifted the Andes up out of the coastal region of the East Sea to mountains “whose height is great,” the buildings at Tiwanaku, including the temples, were thrown about like childrens toy blocks.

Upon the Gate and elsewhere animals were represented in carvings—one of which has been identified as an elephant with its obvious long proboscid. Scientists claim this was a Pleistoceneera Cuverionius, having been long extinct, thus causing them to date these ruins to a period between 12,000 and 15,000 years ago. However, the Book of Mormon shows that elephants were brought to the Land of Promise by the Jaredites (Ether 9:19), which would date the period after 2200 B.C. (See the book “Who Really Settled Mesoamerica” for a clear understanding of this).

(See the next post, “The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part III,” for further information about this fabulous ancient city)

The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part I

Tiahuanacu (Tiwanaku) is in the Bolivian Andes lying over two miles above sea level at 12,500 feet. It is located a few miles from the shores of Lake Titicaca. Archeology in general dates the city to. 200 A.D., but far too many indications of it being much older have arisen in recent years and caused other archaeologists and anthropologists to reconsider, some dating the complex a thousand years earlier or more.

Strangely, though inland from any sea, Tiahuanacu was considered a seaport as early as 1945 by archaeologists. On the rock cliffs near the piers and wharfs of the port area are yellow-white calcareous deposits forming long, straight lines indicating pre-historic water levels. These ancient shorelines are strangely tilted, although they must have once been level. The surrounding area is covered with millions of fossilized seashells. It appears, from the tilting of the ancient shoreline striations and the abundant presence of fossilized oceanic flora and fauna, that a tremendous uplift of land has taken place sometime in the not-too-ancient past.

In fact, oceanic creatures live to this day in abundance in the salty waters of the lake, indicating that it was once a part of the ocean, although it is now over 2 miles above sea-level. What appears to be the original seashore shows signs of a tremendous geological upheaval that once took place. The port of Tiahuanacu, called Puma Punku or "Door of the Puma," is an area filled with enormous stone blocks scattered hither and yon like matchsticks, and weighing between 100 and 150 tons!

One block still in place weighs an estimated 440 tons! One wonders, how were these blocks quarried, how were they transported from the quarries to the building site, and how did the builders manage to place these huge blocks so skillfully to form this massive complex of megalithic buildings? And above all, what tremendous forces of nature tumbled these gigantic stones over one another as if they were light as driftwood? Archeologists have no answers for these questions.

However, the disciple Nephi did: “Behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land” (3 Nephi 8:18).

Some of the docks and piers in this area are so large that hundreds of ships could dock comfortably; yet there is nothing "oceanic" near these docks except a prehistoric coastline indicated by chalky deposits of ancient salt water fossils. Lake Titicaca, languishing miles away, is nearly 100 feet lower than the ruined docks. What tremendous geological upheaval has occurred in the land in the last two thousand years that could have tumbled these huge stones while heaving the entire altiplano region two miles into the sky?

Scientists know of nothing, however, the Book of Mormon makes it perfectly clear: After describing the destruction of several cities, from being sunk into the sea to having mountains carried up over them (3 Nephi 8:8-11), the record goes on to say: “There was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for the whole face of the land was changed” and the “exceeding great quaking of the whole earth” which lasted “for about the space of three hours” (3 Nephi 8:12,19).

Coming from Southern California and weathering more than a dozen major earthquakes in my time, which generally lasted under 2 minutes, a 3 our earthquake that exacted such destruction as described in the Land of Promise, would be extremely and unbelievably destructive.

It was the Lord himself who spoke of “all these cities have I sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof” (3 Nephi 9:7), and “many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people” (3 Nephi 9:12), and “that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depth of the sea” (3 Nephi 9:4), and “that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth” and “the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk” (3 Nephi 8:5-6).

When cities are sunk into the sea, when mountains cover cities, when cities are buried beneath valleys and hills, one might want to consider the enormous and wide-spread cataclysmic event this three hour earthquake caused. No wonder that Lake Titicaca was raised nearly two miles into the air from sea level, and the city of Tiwanaku, once a great seaport city, now sits high in the Andes, and all the tumultulous damage done to huge slabs of rock weighing hundreds of tons.

Science may not have the answer, but the Book of Mormon certainly does.

(See next post, “The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part II“)

Cities of the Land of Nephi – Part III

As stated in the last post, within the Land of Nephi was a separate region called the Land of Jerusalem (Alma 21:1), which was on the borders of the Land of Mormon, where the Nephite outcasts, the Amalekites and Amulonites who became Lamanites, built a great city which they called Jerusalem (Alma 21:2), so named after the Jerusalem in Palestine (Alma 21:1).
While the more idle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness and dwelt in tents (Alma 22:28), many lived within the vacated cities built by the Nephites before they fled with Mosiah to the Land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 9:7). Now the Nephites in Zarahemla considered the Land of Nephi, where the first Nephi settled, “the land of our fathers’ first inheritance” (Mosiah 9:1). This land was called the Land of Lehi-Nephi (Mosiah 9:6), and also the Land of Shilom, which was to the south (Mosiah 9:14). Beyond Shilom was the Land of Shemlon, which was occupied by the Lamanites (Mosiah 10:7; 11:12). Both of these lands could be seen from a high tower built next to the temple in the City of Nephi (Mosiah 11:12).

When Zeniff led his people back to the Land of Nephi to reclaim this land of their fathers’ first inheritance, they “built buildings and repaired the walls of the city of Lehi-Nephi, and those of the city of Shilom” (Mosiah 9:8), where they lived for 22 years in peace (Mosiah 10:3) between Lamanite attacks. In this City of Nephi, Zeniff’s son, Noah, built many elegant and spacious buildings (Mosiah 11:8), and also built many buildings in the Land of Shilom (Mosiah 11:13).

Thus we can see that the Nephites built numerous buildings in the Land of Nephi and round about as late as 150 B.C. Unfortunately, there is not sufficient information in the record to place any of these cities except possibly one and that is the City of Jerusalem. This city the Lord said that he buried in the sea, along with the cities of Onihah and Mocum. Unlike the cities of Gilgal, Gadiandi, Gadiomnah, Jacob and Gimgimno, which were sunk into the depths of the earth, where hills and valley covered them (3 Nephi 9:6-8), Jerusalem was covered by the sea. This could mean that Jerusalem was near the East or West Sea. The probability of this location would be the East Sea since that was the coastline that changed dramatically, with waters flooding the land before mountains were raised up “whose height was great.”

If the Land of Jerusalem was along the east coast, and the city was near the shore, it would make sense that it was buried in the tidal waves that would have occurred as the “entire face of the land” was changed, the shores were inundated with flood waters before the mountains rose up out of the sea bed and formed the tall mountains that Samuel the Lamanite foresaw. This action would have caused a giant wave to have hit the city, the waters to come up and flood the land round about, and then the mountains rising which took the remnants of the city up into the air as the mountains continued to rise.

Such an occurance is seen today in the ruins of the ancient city now called Tiwanaku by archaeologists. These ruins attest to the fact that Tiwanaku was covered with water at one time and was hit by a giant tidal wave that left its mark on the ruins seen and written about by professor Posnansky, whose 50 year study is contained in a 4-volume work entitled “Tiahuanaco, The Cradle of American Man” and first published in 1945

The size of Tiwanaku was very large, the largest ruins found in the eastern Peru, second only to the size and scope of the fortress, city and temple now called Sacsahuaman and the valley below it the Spaniards named Cuzco.

This, then, would place the city of Jerusalem along the southern reaches of the present high-altitude Lake Titicaca and the border between Peru and Bolivia. This city could not be renewed by the Nephites (4 Nephi 1:9), and therefore was lost to them and not rediscovered until the 20th century.

(See the following post, “The Ancient Nephite City of Tiahuanacu – Part I,” for a further understanding of this ancient city and its description)