The Precursors of the Inca
From the ruins of the former settlements of the Inca and Tiahuanaco cultures on Lake Titicaca, the priests worship the Sun God. At dawn, to bring good luck, they burn amulets and llama fetuses, and the smoke rises, carrying the invocation to Viracocha, who created the world from his Island of the Sun. This enigmatic god ordered men to go forth and multiply. He then disappeared into the west, and was never seen again.
According to the eminent archaeologist, Federico Kauffmann Doig, the figure worshipped at the gate of the Sun in Tiahuanaco represents Viracocha, the creator of the Andean world, which is surrounded by mythical beings with condor-like heads. The colossal monoliths in Tiahuanaco seemed to want to speak to us of the secrets which this mysterious culture of Titicaca still hides. Some writers have even described them as gods from other planets, and have come up with elaborate theories. What is certainly true, however, is that these stone sculptures continue to astound even the most distinguished archaeologists and specialists.
The Tiahuanaco culture appeared around the Fourth Century A.D. on the Bolivian plateau just a few kilometers from the shores of Lake Titicaca. From there, it spread south where it merged with the Wari, heirs to a different tradition, the Paracas-Nazca culture. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. It lies at 3820 meters above sea level, covers 9000 square kilometers, is about 230 kilometers long by almost 100 wide, and has a maximum depth of 457 meters.
The Tiahuanaco culture went through a number of different phases: The early phase, the Classical Age and the post-Tiahuanaco culture. It was a society profoundly marked by its religious beliefs. The inhabitants of the Island of the Sun to this day retain reminders of this religion in the liturgy of their rituals. Before undertaking any action, they call upon their gods, especially Pachamama, the Earth Goddess.
Tiahuanaco remains can be seen in the shape of piles of stones, looking towards the snow-capped peaks, believed to be the home of the gods. The ancient mystical observatories are still used by the shaman in their ceremonies of invocation and meditation.
I don't recall hearing anything previously about the civilizational predecessors to the Incas, so this was somewhat interesting, although understandably kind of sparse on detail. Notable though were the references to things like human sacrifice and strict hierarchy. One would think there are enough examples already to debunk the myth that precolumbian societies in the Americas were peaceful and egalitarian before the Europeans arrived, but if more are needed, here are apparently a couple more examples to the contrary. I was also fascinated by the appearance of those reed boats still used in northern Peru, and the fishermens' skill in "surfing" with them.
Thank you.
How on this earth,this doc' inspired so much outpouring of verbal garbage as most of these comment ors I fail to see.They do no more than illuminate their collective pomposity .Wonderful informative beautifully filmed doc' though ..thank you very much
The closed captions are a joke..almost ruins the film. It seems the entity that provided the CC and the proof readers did not speak English. For people with good hearing, this is not a issue, but for us that are hearing challenged it is a real bummer. The doc is amazing though.
Youtube's technology. It's not perfect.
I pulled this comment because you answered my question.
You ever wonder about all these ancient religions; They no longer exist so this must mean they were worshiping false "god's"?
Religion must exist without script? Religion must be experienced not learned in textbook fashion? Third Party Religious Brokers are simply DESPICABLE as Daffy Duck would say. "God", how i despise those clowns in costumes!
Daffy Duck the pope and billy graham are all creations of the same "god"; no matter what you choose to believe!; by the very fact of all the thousands of defunct "gods" that have come and gone.
all gods are false.
You've made a negative positive. You cannot prove all gods are false.
at this point, i really couldn't care less.
As soon as a magic sky wizard shows up, i'll get right on changing my opinion, until then i'm not going to waste my life worrying about it.
It did come across as a bit smart-ass when I looked at it again. Apologies.
I was trying to point out you put the onus on yourself to prove a statement that cannot be proven. Don't want to do that if there are any bible thumpers lurking about. Make them prove what cannot be proven.
no i get it, and you are completly right, it is impossible to prove a negative, granted my heckles did rise a little bit...but only because you were as i say correct.
"bible thumpers lurking about"
Hilarious!
a_no_n your words are very comforting :-) They sort of ground me.
Found something we can agree on :)
Personally i don't care for the word "god" I prefer Deity; That sounds more like partnership instead of master?
a_no_n reply is acceptable in that it would seem that any "God", one might think, would make their self known, don't you think? Lots of people lead a sheltered life and never discard their security blanket. They obey all the rules go to church or temple and never do anything off key, not really. How could anyone with that kind of life know anything about the Deity? Except what was pulled from a book and a third party religious broker and guess what that third party religious broker got his or her information from the same book, "amen".
The above is not a description of me. My entire life has been one of a Bi Polar double dick dog in heat meandering down roads coming from and leading to nowhere, a good part of the time anyway. If it were not for Divine intervention i really don't think i would be here today? I have witnessed it many times in my life.
I don't know i have no tolerance for dead people and their plastic christmas trees. Not individually of course but that collective mind set is more then I am able to digest?
It is possible to prove that all gods are false, the reasoning for this is ultimately the same as the reasoning that the religious use to say that there are gods or a god. This goes as follows: How does one describe the nature of a god, the base argument is that it is a supernatural force that overrides the laws of physics, simply by being or by performing miracles, therefore a god is something that can do the physically impossible therefore it has to be impossible itself. so therefore in a universe such as ours there can be no gods, except if you want to acknowledge the presence of virtual quantum fluctuations in null space as gods but also then it won't be able to listen to your prayers or even have the capacity to care, it might just be how our universe was formed out of nothing. For more on these views search for info on Aaron Ra or watch Lawrence Krauss's "A Universe from nothing" so that you will be able to understand the mathmatical beauty of our existance.
All gods are false! The life force isn't?
the man created god, not vice versa!
The "God" these organized religions are shoving down peoples throat, yes! I don't recognize "god" in that connotation! I don't give the "Deity" singular form? Nature/Deity to me is one and the same, (in the connotation of, space/time),The things that i have Experienced in REAL terms, (I have said this before somewhere on here) would raise the hair on Einsteins neck.
Existence has become a cleche'. collectively speaking we have forgotten, the FACT one cast a shadow is Divine in an of itself by its very - nature, (pun intended)!
Like a new lovers There heart pounds, (not their brain) the fusion is more then they can handle, The two become one, a new ME.
The sum total is the Deity, (God).
Lex if you have something "positive" to add, Please by all means bring it on!
Am I the only one that sees the king naked?
I always found that to be interesting, all older religions are labeled as Myths and popular beliefs are religions. It just seems like a rise and fall cycle of beliefs, kind of like the great civilizations. They are all great and the truth, until they fall.
We are on the same page Keith.