2,600-year-old seal bearing name of First Temple-era official discovered in Jeruslam

A bulla inscribed with the name of Natan-Melech, official in the court of King Josiah. Source: Israel Antiquities Authority.

The Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University discovered a 2,600 year old ancient  bulla seal impression bearing the inscription “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King”  in the City of David just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, according to an announcement on Sunday.

It was discovered during an archeological dig inside a large public building that was destroyed in the sixth century BCE — likely during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Large stone debris, burnt wooden beams and numerous charred pottery shards also were discovered in the building, all indications that they had survived an immense fire.

The dig was conducted by archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University.

The stamp and its seal impression that were discovered in the dig are each about one centimeter in size.

The name Nathan-Melech appears once in the Bible, in the second book of Kings 23:11, where he is described as an official in the court of King Josiah, who took part in the religious reform that the king was implementing.

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A 1 cm stamp-seal made of bluish agate stone was also found in the ruins. The stamp is engraved with the name: “(Belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu.” The name “Matanyahu” appears in the Bible and on other stamps and seal marks, but the name “Ikar” has not been seen before.

 

Trees in Amazonia reveal pre-colonial human disturbance

Human history through tree rings

IMAGE: Brazil nut fruit and tree in the background. view more 

Credit: Victor L. Caetano Andrade

In a new paper published in PLOS ONE, an international team of scientists reports the combined use of dendrochronology and historical survey to investigate the effects of societal and demographic changes on forest disturbances and growth dynamics in a neotropical tree species, the Brazil nut tree. The study, led by scientists from the National Institute for Amazonian Research, alongside colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, shows the influence of human populations and their management practices on the domestication of rainforest landscapes. The researchers used non-destructive sampling, in which small samples are removed from the bark to the center of the trees, and compared tree-ring data from cores of 67 trees. This is the first study of human influence on the growth of trees that extends as far back as 400 years, to pre-colonial times in that region of Brazil. This work also reinforces that pre-colonial populations left important imprints in the Amazon, contributing to changing forest structure and resources through time.
Domesticated Amazonia Until recently, forests in the Amazon Basin have often been argued to be "pristine" or the site of only small-scale human occupation and use prior to the arrival of European explorers in the 16th century. However, recent archaeobotanical, archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, and ecological research has highlighted extensive and diverse evidence for plant domestication, plant dispersal, forest management, and landscape alteration by pre-Columbian societies.
Nevertheless, human management of tropical forests has undergone a number of drastic changes with the rise of global industrialized societies. Many economically important trees dominate modern Amazonian forests, some of which have undergone domestication processes. Therefore, understanding the changes in forest management witnessed by Amazonian forests over the course of the last centuries has significant implications for ongoing human interaction with these threatened ecosystems.
"The results of this study demonstrate that Brazil nut tree growth reflects human occupation intensity and management. This is one more step to understanding the crucial interactions that led the Amazon forest to be the dynamic, humanized landscape it is today", says Victor Caetano Andrade, lead author of the study, of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
A history recorded in rings Recently, dendroecological studies have emerged as a promising avenue for the investigation of changes in the environment in tropical forests. These studies evaluate the rings formed annually in some tree species to obtain information on their age and annual growth, as is the case with the Brazil nut tree. Patterns of establishment and abrupt changes in tree growth, which are visible in a tree's rings, provide insights into past local environmental conditions. In the current study, the researchers worked in an area of Central Amazonia near Manaus with high Brazil nut tree density, known locally as castanhais. Through non-destructive sampling, in which small samples are removed from the bark to the center of the trees, they compared tree-ring data from cores of 67 trees with the available historical information on the political, economic, and human demographic changes in the region over the last 400 years.
Indigenous and colonial: a change in the way of living with the forest Based on their interpretation of the tree rings, the researchers were able to construct a picture of the life-histories of these nut trees and how they correlate with pre- and post-colonial human forest management. The management of trees in Amazon forest often involves practices that include the clearance of the understory, opening of the forest canopy, cutting down woody vining plants, and active protection of individuals. The researchers undertook the study hoping to find evidence of these practices in tree rings.
The researchers gathered historical information about the Mura indigenous people, who inhabited the region before the establishment of the Portuguese colonial administration and witnessed their own population decline from the 18th century onwards, followed by the emergence of a new post-colonial society. During the transition between Indigenous population decline and the expansion of a post-colonial political center (the city of Manaus), human population was low, coinciding with a period during which no new trees were established in the region.
This gap in the establishment of new trees suggests that there was an interruption of indigenous management practices likely due to population collapse, as in many other pre-Columbian societies. A later period of renewed tree establishment, also associated with changes in growth rates of existing trees, aligns with a shift to modern exploitation of the forest in the late 19th and 20th century.
Understanding how forest management has changed following the arrival of European colonists and the rise of industrial powers over the course of the past centuries has implications for the future of sustainable forestry and conservation in Amazonia. "Our findings shed light on how past histories of human-forest interactions can be revealed by the growth rings of trees in Amazonia," explains Caetano Andrade. "Future interdisciplinary analysis of these trees, including the use of genetics and isotopes, should enable more detailed investigations into how human forest management has changed in this part of the world, through pre-colonial, colonial, and industrial periods of human activity, with potential implications for conservation."

A 5,000-year-old barley grain discovered in Finland changes understanding of livelihoods

IMAGE: Researchers determined the age of millennia-old barley grains using radiocarbon dating. view more 

Credit: Santeri Vanhanen, CC-BY 4.0 licence

On the basis of prior research, representatives of the Pitted Ware Culture from the Stone Age have been known as hard-core sealers, or even Inuits of the Baltic Sea. Now, researchers have discovered barley and wheat grains in areas previously inhabited by this culture, leading to the conclusion that the Pitted Ware Culture adopted agriculture on a small scale.
A study carried out in cooperation with parties representing the discipline of archaeology and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Helsinki, as well as Swedish operators in the field of archaeology (The Archaeologists, a governmental consultant agency, and Arkeologikonsult, a business), found grains of barley and wheat in Pitted Ware settlements on Finland's Aland Islands and in the region of modern Stockholm.
The age of the grains was ascertained using radiocarbon dating. Based on the results, the grains originated in the period of the Pitted Ware culture, thus being approximately 4,300-5,300 years old. In addition to the cereal grains, the plant remnants found in the sites included hazelnut shells, apple seeds, tuberous roots of lesser celandine and rose hips.
The study suggests that small-scale farming was adopted by the Pitted Ware Culture by learning the trade from farmers of the Funnel Beaker Culture, the latter having expanded from continental Europe to Scandinavia.
Other archaeological artefacts are also evidence of close contact between these two cultures.
"The grains found on Aland are proof that the Pitted Ware Culture introduced cultivation to places where it had not yet been practised," says Santeri Vanhanen, a doctoral student of archaeology at the University of Helsinki.
Cereal perhaps used to brew beer? The 5,000-year-old barley grain found on Aland is the oldest grain of cereal ever found in Finland. The researchers also found a handful of barley and wheat grains a few hundred years younger, representing either common wheat or club wheat.
"We also dated one barley grain found in Raseborg, southern Finland. This grain and the other earliest grains found in mainland Finland date back some 3,500 years, some 1,500 years behind Aland according to current knowledge," Vanhanen explains.
In prior studies, it has been extremely difficult to demonstrate that the hunter-gatherer population would have adopted farming during recorded history, let alone in the Stone Age. Research on ancient DNA has in recent years proven that the spread of agriculture in Europe was almost exclusively down to migrants.
"We find it possible that this population, which was primarily specialised in marine hunting, continued to grow plants as the practice provided the community with social significance."
From time to time, an abundance of pig bones are found at Pitted Ware sites, even though pigs were not an important part of their daily nourishment. For instance, the bones of more than 30 pigs were found in a grave located on the island of Gotland.
"Members of the Pitted Ware culture may have held ritual feasts where pigs and cereal products were consumed. It's not inconceivable that grains might even have been used to brew beer, but the evidence is yet to be found," Vanhanen continues.
Grain age determined through radiocarbon dating The research relies primarily on archaeobotanical methodology, which helps examine plant remains preserved in archaeological sites. In this study, soil samples were collected from the sites, from which plant remains were extracted using a flotation method. The plant remains are charred; in other words, the grains and seeds have turned into carbon after having come to contact with fire.
Plant remains can be identified by examining them through a microscope and comparing them to modern plant parts. The age of individual grains can be determined with radiocarbon dating, based on the fractionation of the radioactive carbon-14 isotope. This way, the age of a grain aged several millennia can be determined with a precision of a few centuries.

Uncovering the secrets of ancient rock art using 'X-ray vision'

IMAGE: A portable X-ray device has revealed new insights about the pigments used in rock art without damaging the site. view more 

Credit: Courtesy of Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center

ORLANDO, Fla., April 1, 2019 -- Prehistoric rock paintings are a source of fascination across the world. Aside from their beauty, there's deep meaning in these strokes, which depict ancient rituals and important symbols. To learn more about these murals, researchers have historically resorted to sampling methods that are damaging to the artwork, contradicting the archaeological tenets of conservation. Today, scientists report use of "X-ray vision" to gain brand-new insights about the layers of paint in rock art in Texas without needless damage.
The researchers will present their results today at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring 2019 National Meeting & Exposition. ACS, the world's largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features nearly 13,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.
"In this particular work, we used a technique called portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF), in which a handheld instrument can be carried to a site and used right there, on the spot," says Karen Steelman, Ph.D., who led the study. "It gives you the elemental analysis of a specific material, and is the first step in figuring out how ancient artists used different materials to make their paintings."
Steelman's research focuses on the analysis of rock and cave art, particularly in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands in Texas. She and her colleagues at the Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center have previously analyzed the composition of pigments at more than 10 sites in the region, but had been unable to see the bigger picture of how these pictographs were composed. Other pigment analysis methods, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, require a sample of the rock art in question, which results in damage to the site, and field microscopes are unable to detect layers of paint in a complex mural.
For this particular study, Steelman and her colleagues visited the Rattlesnake Canyon Site along the Rio Grande, known for its array of pictographs. Using a 105-foot wide mural as their testing canvas, they used pXRF to measure 138 areas where the composition indicated overlapping pigments of red, black, white and yellow. In addition, measurements were taken at 90 locations of unpainted limestone, which provided insight into the makeup of the geological canvas.
Using the large amount of data collected from Rattlesnake Canyon, the team could determine a pattern to the layers of pigment, as well as their elemental makeup. The pXRF measurements revealed previously unseen layers of black pigment under layers of red, which were made with manganese and iron oxide, respectively. These complex layers of pigment indicated a level of sophistication seen in other Lower Pecos sites, which ethnographers have determined are a series of religious murals that revealed the complex nature of the hunter-gatherer society that occupied the region from 2500 BCE to 500 CE.
In addition to their findings on the composition of the pictographs, Steelman, along with fellow Shumla collaborators Victoria Roberts and Carolyn Boyd, Ph.D., discovered that the site appeared to contain gunshot damage. To confirm their suspicions, they again turned to pXRF to identify any trace elements that could have come from ammunition. "Unfortunately, we often see suspected bullet impacts at rock art sites," Steelman says. "Most of this is older types of vandalism from the early 1900s, and we used the portable X-ray to determine what trace elements were present." At the impact sites, pXRF revealed traces of lead, mercury and selenium, which were not present in the undamaged areas. There is a bright side to this discovery; finding damage at archaeologically significant sites is an opportunity to petition state and federal agencies for conservation funds to use for more extensive preservation measures, Steelman explains.
With over 350 known rock art sites in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands alone, Steelman and team plan to continue using pXRF to see the full picture of the tapestry of color and symbol woven throughout the region. Flooding along the Rio Grande is a major threat to what the researchers describe as "the oldest books in North America," and they are on a mission to document and analyze as many sites as possible to preserve these stories for future generations.

Complex artefacts don't prove brilliance of our ancestors

IMAGE: Artefacts such as bows and arrows do not necessarily prove our ancestors had sophisticated reasoning and understanding of how these tools worked, new research suggests. view more 

Credit: University of Exeter

Artefacts such as bows and arrows do not necessarily prove our ancestors had sophisticated reasoning and understanding of how these tools worked, new research suggests.
Instead, such items could have emerged from an "accumulation of improvements made across generations" - with each generation understanding no more than the last.
The new study, by the University of Exeter and the Catholic University of Lille, does not question humanity's capacity for "enhanced causal reasoning" - but argues this did not necessarily drive the development of technologies such as bows, boats and houses.
Researchers used "chains" of volunteers to tackle an engineering problem, with each volunteer able to learn from the last. Solutions improved with each "generation" - but those at the end of the chain had no more understanding of key concepts than their predecessors.
"We tend to explain the existence of complex technologies by saying humans have big brains and superior causal reasoning abilities," said Dr Maxime Derex, of the University of Exeter and the Catholic University of Lille.
"But - as our study shows - you don't have to understand how something works in order to improve it.
"Artefacts from hundreds or thousands of years ago do not necessarily show that their makers had a plan or a theory about how something would work."
The study used 14 chains of five French university students, each aiming to optimise a wheel that rolled down a track - moving faster or slower depending on the adjustment of moveable weights on its four spokes.
Each participant had five attempts to minimise the time it took for the wheel the reach the end of the track, and all but the first participant in each chain got details of the last two configurations used by the previous person.
Afterwards, researchers tested each participant's understanding by asking them to predict which of two wheels would cover the distance faster.
The study found: "The average wheel speed increased across generations while participants' understanding did not."
A further 14 chains of students completed the same process, but this time they could write down a theory to pass to the next participant.
Wheel speed rose at a similar rate as that seen in groups who passed on no written instructions, but once again understanding "barely changed across generations".
The researchers said: "Most participants actually produced incorrect or incomplete theories despite the relative simplicity of the physical system."
The findings prove the power of "cultural transmission, without the need for an accurate causal understanding of the system", they said.
"Our experiment indicates that one should be cautious when interpreting complex archaeological materials as evidence for sophisticated cognitive abilities such as reasoning, problem solving or planning, since these abilities are not the sole driver of technological sophistication," said Dr Alex Mesoudi, of the University of Exeter.

Drinking diplomacy: Fraternal culture in early imperial Russia

Using newly discovered archival materials, Igor Fedyukin of the Higher School of Economics, in collaboration with Robert Collis (Drake University) and Ernest A. Zitser (Duke University), sheds light on the significance and context surrounding a Spanish diplomat's initiative which sought to establish an informal men's club called the 'Order of the Anti-Sober' at Peter II's court. Their study was published in The International History Review.
In the late 17th - early 18th centuries, various fraternities, societies and associations were gaining popularity throughout Europe among the elite. Their motives were often not particularly serious: the informal gatherings often served as an occasion for drinking and socializing. However, these associations often provided venues for discussing and solving important political issues, forging political alliances, and laying the groundwork for future political parties.
In 1728, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Duke of Liria, a Spanish Ambassador, sought to start such a club at Peter II's court. It was to be called the 'Order of the Anti-Sober'.
When James Francis Fitz-James Stuart (1696-1738), Duke of Liria and Spain's first permanent envoy to Russia, was preparing to depart on his diplomatic mission, he knew in advance how he would go about achieving his objectives in St. Petersburg. As he intimated in a letter to his uncle and heir to the British throne James (III) Stuart, the envoy planned to rely on 'the varieties of [his] wines', since 'in that part of the world all affairs are concluded on a bottle'.
Such assumptions should not be too surprising: during the reign of Peter the Great, the Russian court was known for its boisterous feasts and carnivals with heavy drinking. It appears only natural that Liria would have the same stereotype about the court of Peter the Great's teenage grandson, Emperor Peter II (1715-1730, r. 1728-1730), who reigned by the time the envoy arrived.
However, the behavior and alcohol consumption of Russian elites of those times were in fact not so different from their European counterparts. In the 18th-century European royal courts, informal meetings with a narrow circle of confidants were quite popular, where the aroma of wine was an integral element. There is evidence of the existence of such societies as 'The Order of the Wine Grape' (Ordre de la Grappe) in Arles, France, 'The Order of the Medusa' (Ordre de la Meduse) in Toulon, and 'The Order of the Drinks' (Ordre de la Boisson) in Avignon. A 'Collegium of Tobacco Smokers' (Tabakskollegium) existed at the court of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia. According to the diary by Friedrich Wilhelm von Bergholz, a gentleman of the bedchamber to Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, who resided in Russia throughout the early 1720s, the creation of mock orders was a common practice in the context of small northern European courts. These societies were a platform for entertainment and informal interaction for diplomats and the ruling elites. So the Duke of Liria's intention to create a closed club named future 'Order of the Anti-sober' (Ordre des Antisobres) was quite in line with that era's political culture trends.
Rules of the Club
The charter of the 'Order of the Anti-Sober', which was discovered in French archives, mentions the Epiphany of 1728 as the date of the order foundation. It is known that the Duke of Liria, who had come to Russia and had been introduced at the court not long before that, officially participated in a foreign diplomats' assembly for the first time around these dates.
The surviving text of the charter has, of course, a boisterous, mocking tone. For example, the first article mockingly refers to the Old Testament and requires order members to exhibit 'eternal antipathy' towards the 'sect' of teetotalers and all those who practiced the 'vice of sobriety'. Another rule had it that the 'cavaliers' of the order had to be pleasant in their interactions and be able to mock without turning to malice. Pointedly, the lack of these qualities could be forgiven if a candidate had a 'good cook' and 'excellent wines'.
The planned order was intended as a space for socializing, uninterrupted by any personal or political tensions. The members were instructed to leave all their ranks and titles at the door and limit the length of their speeches to two minutes to avoid the 'dread' of 'yawning' and the 'unpardonable crime' of boredom.
No more than three dishes were to be put on the table during the meals, since 'profusion is the irreconcilable enemy of delicacy.' In addition, nobody was to force other members to eat and drink beyond the dictates of their own appetite.
The members of the order were to observe secrecy, in a manner similar to other secretive societies. There would also be special marks, signs, and rituals, allowing a member to recognize his fellows wherever they met. The members were supposed to greet each other by exclaiming 'Long live the Epiphany at the 59th Degree!' - a countersign marking the latitude of St. Petersburg, the location of the order foundation.
Women were barred from entering the order. This was explained by the necessity to temper the 'ardor of certain desires' and contribute to the 'sweet harmony' and 'happiness' to which the prospective members of this 'august and incomparable order' aspired.
Article 11 of the charter mandated that the members maintain sincere, close, and cordial relations with one another and exclude all prejudices, such as those that are caused by religious or national differences. To this end, the charter even banned all 'ceremonial toasts' honouring monarchs and any other 'potentates'.
The violators of these rules were to be condemned to 'travel 20 years in Russia without a bed and without a cook, in winter without a fur jacket, in summer without ice.'
According to the researchers, the exclusion of women and the explicitly apolitical nature of the meetings were very much in the spirit of English Freemasonry, as articulated in 1723 by James Anderson.
Motives to Create the Club
The Duke of Liria was, in fact, a servant to two masters: Philip V, the sovereign who appointed him Spain's first official diplomatic representative in Russia, and James (III) Stuart, the Jacobite claimant to the British throne, with whom the duke maintained secret correspondence and to whom he professed boundless loyalty.
In 1725, Spain signed The Treaty of Vienna with Austria, which opposed the signatories of the Treaty of Hanover, most notably, France, Great Britain, and Prussia. Under such a balance of powers, Philip V commissioned Liria to persuade Russia to join the Treaty of Vienna and, probably, even dispatch a fleet that would land in England, overthrow George I, and restore the Stuart dynasty.
In St. Petersburg, Liria was going to count on Duke Karl Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, spouse of tsar's daughter Anna Petrovna, member of Russia's Supreme Privy Council and an important political player at the court of his mother-in-law, Empress Catherine I. Karl Friedrich's claims to both the Holstein territory annexed by the king of Denmark and to the Swedish throne were very much central to the hostility between Russia and Britain. Liria was therefore hoping to talk Karl Friedrich into acting against the Hanoverian Alliance.
But over the course of the Spanish envoy's six-month journey from Madrid to St. Petersburg, the diplomatic situation in Europe changed. In March 1727, the government of George I managed to persuade Sweden to join the Hanover alliance. In June, Catherine I passed away. These conditions led to the expulsion of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, whose support was to be instrumental to Liria, from Russia.
The charter of the 'Order of the Anti-Sober' establishes Liria as Grand Master, but it also names Baron Mardefeld, Prussian Ambassador in Russia, 'Protector' of the order. It appears such courtesy towards the Prussian diplomat was made in pursuit of some clear political goals. On the one hand, by the moment of Liria's arrival to Russia in November 1727, Mardefeld had spent a full decade in St. Petersburg and probably knew more about Russian domestic politics than most of the other foreign residents. On the other hand, Mardefeld had been charged with repairing the strategic relationship between Russia and the Hanoverian Alliance, a diplomatic rapprochement that Liria was specifically tasked with preventing. The Prussian diplomat also supported the candidacy of a Saxon prince to the Polish throne, whereas Liria was intriguing in favor of an alternative claimant for the crown. Apparently, some opportunities for close and informal meetings with the Prussian diplomat as part of a mock order would be very useful for Liria.
Meanwhile, researchers have no further evidence on whether the 'Order of the Anti-Sober' was created or not. Neither reports by Liria himself, nor known papers by Mardefeld, include any intentions on creating a closed drinking club in St. Petersburg. But this does not mean that informal interaction over a bottle of wine was not used by diplomats as a political tool. It is known that the Duke of Liria hosted regular dinner parties for diplomats, the young Russian monarch, and his confidants. At such parties, over 500 bottles of wine could be emptied, and, undoubtedly, political talk was an integral part of them. As a result, Liria managed to assume very good positions at Peter II's court. Unfortunately, however, the teenage monarch died soon, and the international political situation quickly changed. As a result, Liria's embassy did not achieve any outstanding diplomatic results. Mock orders as a space for informal socializing for the elites soon started to be replaced by Masonic Lodges: Jacobites, advocates of the overthrown Stuart dynasty in Europe, played a key role in their popularization.

Rise of religion pre-dates Incas at Lake Titicaca

IMAGE: The team found ritual offerings consisting of ceramic feline incense burners; sacrificed juvenile llamas; and gold, shell and stone ornaments view more 

Credit: Teddy Seguin

An ancient group of people made ritual offerings to supernatural deities near the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, about 500 years earlier than the Incas, according to an international team of researchers. The team's findings suggest that organized religion emerged much earlier in the region than previously thought.
"People often associate the Island of the Sun with the Incas because it was an important pilgrimage location for them and because they left behind numerous ceremonial buildings and offerings on and around this island," said Jose Capriles, assistant professor of anthropology, Penn State. "Our research shows that the Tiwanaku people, who developed in Lake Titicaca between 500 and 1,100 AD, were the first people to offer items of value to religious deities in the area."
The Incas, Capriles noted, did not arrive in the Lake Titicaca region until around the 15th century AD.
A team lead by Christophe Delaere, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology and research associate at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, conducted underwater archaeological excavations in the Khoa Reef near the Island of the Sun. The archaeologists used sonar and underwater three-dimensional photogrammetry to scan and map the reef. They used a water-dredge to excavate the sediment and measured and weighed all the archaeological materials they uncovered. Their results appear today (April 1) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In particular, the team found ritual offerings consisting of ceramic feline incense burners; sacrificed juvenile llamas; and gold, shell and stone ornaments.
"The findings, and especially the ceramic puma-shaped incense burners, are significant because they help us gain a broader understanding of the ritual behavior and religion of the Tiwanaku state -- a society that preceded the Incas by several hundred years," said Delaere.
The puma was an important religious symbol to the Tiwanaku, Delaere added.
Another observation made by the team was that the religious offerings appear to have been made intentionally to be submerged underwater.
"The presence of anchors near the offerings suggests that officiating authorities may have deposited the offerings during rituals held from boats," said Capriles.
According to Capriles, the Island of the Sun was likely important to the Tiwanaku people because of its natural beauty, but also because of its location at the center of the Andes Mountains.
"It was a strategic and ritually charged place," said Capriles. "At the Island of the Sun and the Khoa Reef, religious specialists could come together for sacred ceremonies. The ritual offerings they made here demonstrate the transitioning of societies from more local-based religious systems to something that had a more ambitious geopolitical and spiritual appeal."
In turn, he added, this emergence of organized religion likely led to consolidation of the groups of people living around the lake and the emergence of the Tiwanaku state, characterized by political hierarchy.