Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-05-27
Indicates Civilization in South
America Antedating That
of Ancient Egypt.

A city so old that even the legendary
lore of the lncas, who traced an I'M
broken line of kings back to the Elev-
enth century. is dumb concerning the
people who built it; d city, which 1000
years ago, Il been so long dead that
even song. story and tradition had for
gotten every NeStige of its history when
columbus discovered the New World"
Such is the ancient city of T~iahuanacu,
whose ruins are crumbling surely. but
Very slowly, into dust. not far from the
southern shore Of Lake Titicaca, in
| Bolivia.
The little present-day village Of
is located on the railroad
which La Paz. the modern
capital of Bolivia, with the port of
reached i'm about two hours from the
former place. The ruins of ancient
ilahuanacu covering an area of about
a square mile. are not over a half mile
from the village" write Edward Albes
IN the monthly bulletin of the Pan
american Union. Washington. ID. c.
"A traveller. stopping in the little
town. n ignorant of the proximity of
tho ruins, woul be astounded to OBJ
serve the number of beautifully cut
STONES bullt into parts of adobe huts OF
the most primitive character and some
times forming portions of a squalid
patio. A doorway to a dilapidated.
thatch-roof hut. may have a Intel mr.
Jamb. formed by an artistically carved
stone. IN the walls of the little Catho-
TIC church and in those inclosing its
yard. and even In the paving, may be
seen tnose smooth tones The pedestal.
on Which Is mounted the stone cross
~ front OF the church. is made up Of
them. while on either side of the gate
a to the Enclosure. stands a carved
stone idol. whose lines. married by the
al OF time. still show the artistic
skill of the ancient s%culptors who
Wrought them"
Ihus the ruins of the ancient CITY
nave furnished much OF the material
to build the village of TODAY. and while
the strict unitarian may find no fault
Wltn this work of destroying the ar
.islic monuments of a hoary ANTIQUITY
10 cater to present needs, to the student
Oh archaeology 1T seems almost like
pesecfatlon. The Bolivian government
h tas Iecehtly enacted a law which for
uius tne carrying off or wilful destruc-
.ion OF that portion of the ruins which
vamdal hands have left intact.
Inc ruins themselves include tho
of temples, palaces and great
structures of what once must have been
q 1arse ana dehsely populated city.
MOI a vestfge remains OF the dwellings,
and less %pretentious houses in which
inns population must have lived. These
were naturally of a more temporary
character and the relentless agents of
working through countless
centuries. have obliterated all traces.
The question which confronts the
archaeologist is-how could a popula-
tlon sufficiently numerous to accom-
plish the building of such a city have
maintained itself in this region? The
ruins are located $4,000 feet above the
leVel of the sea on a vast plateau where
tne constant cold prevents the maturing
or corr or other grain. Att present po-
tatoes, oca and some other edible roots
are grown, but the region sustains only
a scanty mountain population. The
city once covered a large area, the
great structures were built by skilled
masons. One stone is 36 feet long by z