Pachataka (also spelled Pachataca or Pachat'aqa), commonly known as the Inca Gallows,
is an archaeological site in
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, located near
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; ; ) 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. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
in the municipality of
Copacabana,
Manco Kapac Province
Manco Kapac is a province in the Bolivian department of La Paz. Its capital is Copacabana.
Subdivision
Manco Kapac Province is divided into three municipalities which are partly further subdivided into cantons.
Places of interest
* Chink ...
, within the
La Paz Department.
''Pachataka'' is a pre-Inca astronomical observatory formed by a lintel made of two parallel stone blocks. It was used to determine the seasons, track lunar movements, and predict eclipses.
It is located at the summit of Mount
Kesanani, approximately 600 meters south of the town of Copacabana.
In the Aymara language, “Pachataka” means “the place where time is measured.” The Spanish mistakenly named it the "Inca Gallows."
According to mathematical and astronomical calculations conducted by the Institute of Cosmic Physics of Bolivia, the observatory dates approximately to 1764 B.C., during the era of the
Chiripa culture
The Chiripa culture existed between the Cultural periods of Peru, Initial Period/Early Horizon, from 1400 to 100 BCE along the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.
Architecture
The site of Chiripa consists of a large mound platform that ...
.
[
File:Copacabana Bolivia desde la Horca del Inca.jpg, Copacabana and Lake Titicaca as seen from Pachat'aqa
]
See also
* Chinkana
Chinkana ( Quechua for labyrinth)Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Quechua-Spanish dictionary, Cusco, Peru, 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) is an archaeological site in Bolivia situated on the Isla del Sol
Isla del Sol (Spanish language, S ...
* Iñaq Uyu
Iñaq Uyu ( Aymara, ''iñaqa'' a woman of noble caste of the Incas, ''uyu'' pen (enclosure), yard, cemetery, "pen of the ''iñaqa'', the woman of the noble caste of the Incas", other spellings ''Iñac Uyu, Iñac Uyo, Iñakuyu, Iñak Uyu, Iñak ...
* Pilkokaina
* Copacabana
* Isla del Sol
Isla del Sol (Spanish language, Spanish for "Island of the Sun") is an island in the southern part of Lake Titicaca. It is part of Bolivia, and specifically part of the La Paz Department (Bolivia), La Paz Department. Geographically, the terrain is ...
References
Archaeological sites in Bolivia
Buildings and structures in La Paz Department (Bolivia)
Tourist attractions in La Paz Department (Bolivia)
{{Bolivia-archaeology-stub