A detail of one of the funerary towers at Silustani close to Puno in Peru. The towers or Chullpas are Pre Incan

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Sillustani is a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo near Puno in Peru. The tombs, which are built above ground in tower-like structures called chullpas, are the vestiges of the Colla people, Aymara who were conquered by the Inca in the 15th century. The structures housed the remains of complete family groups, although they were probably limited to nobility. Many of the tombs have been dynamited by grave robbers, while others were left unfinished.[1]

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Size: 2912px × 4368px
Photo credit: © Thornton Cohen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: america, andes, architecture, aymara, brick, chullpas, detail, funerary, graves, incan, latin, male, peru, pre, pre-colombian, silustani, south, stones, symbolic, towers, traditional, vertical