The Mollo culture existed in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at ...

area after the collapse of the

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( es, Tiahuanaco or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilo ...

culture during the period of AD 1000 to 1500; it predated the

Inca civilization The Incas were most notable for establishing the Inca Empire in Pre-Columbian America, which was centered in modern day South America in Peru and Chile. It was about 2,500 miles from the northern to southern tip. The civilization lasted from 1 ...

. While the Mollo showed a continuity with Late Tiwanaku culture in both domestic and village

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, they left no

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

s. Mollo worshiped the jaguar.

Archaeology

One of the best representations of the Mollo are the ruins northeast of

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...

Iskanwaya Iskanwaya is a pre-Columbian sacred site, situated on a mountain ridge above the Llica River in Bolivia, 325 km north of La Paz. In its extension and its age Iskanwaya surpasses Machu Picchu in Peru, but it is less well preserved. Location ...

, on the Cordillera Real, above the Rio Llica (). Iskanwaya, in

Muñecas Province Muñecas is a province in the Bolivian department of La Paz. Its capital is Chuma. Subdivision The province is divided into three municipalities which are further subdivided into cantons. Places of interest * Iskanwaya Iskanwaya is a pr ...

, is from

La Paz, Bolivia La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...

. Dated from 1145 to 1425, the city was built on platforms and was notable for its running water. More than one hundred buildings, streets and plazas still survive. Mollo streets ran in east-west direction. Their houses were rectangular and grouped around patios.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

patterns included terracing and

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

. Other Mollo sites, such as Piniqo and Khargi, exhibit the same settlement characteristics as Iskanwaya, Wamán is an old agricultural establishment with the same terracing pattern. The present-day village of

Charazani Charazani or Charasani is a small town in the South American Andes in Bolivia. Location ''Charazani'' is the capital of Bautista Saavedra Province and central town of the municipality. It is situated on a spur at an elevation of 3,200 m amsl ...

includes Mollo archaeological sites as the ruins of

Mallku Janalaya Mallku is a title roughly translating as "prince" or "leader" in the Aymara language of South America. They recognise an Apu Mallku as their "supreme leader" or "king". There is also an institution called the ''Council of Mallkus and Amautas'' wh ...

Ethnography

Kallawaya people The Kallawaya are an indigenous group living in the Andes of Bolivia. They live in the Bautista Saavedra Province and Muñecas Province of the La Paz Department but are best known for being an itinerant group of traditional healers that t ...

, an itinerant group of healers, were of the Mollo culture. The Mollo were defined by their ceramics. Shoe pots, grave pots, vases, and dipping vessels have been found and these are either plain or painted black and white on red

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

. They created a unique drinking cup with a built-in straw. Some of these ceramics can be found today as far away as the

Náprstek Museum The Náprstek Museum is a museum of Asian, African and Native American art located in Bethlehem Square ( cs, Betlemske namesti) in Prague, Czech Republic. It is one of several permanent exhibitions of the National Museum. The museum is situate ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Burials were of single adults placed in

chullpa A ''chullpa'' is an ancient Aymara funerary tower originally constructed for a noble person or noble family. ''Chullpas'' are found across the Altiplano in Peru and Bolivia. The tallest are about high. The tombs at Sillustani are most famou ...

funerary towers of stone or adobe, while infant skeletons are found in tombs beneath house floors.

References

External links

Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollo Culture Andean civilizations Prehistory of Bolivia Archaeological sites in Bolivia Populated places established in the 1st millennium 2nd-millennium establishments in South America

Archaeology

Ethnography

References

Further reading

External links