| Ponce Monolith | |
|---|---|
_(17228598245).jpg) | |
| Material | Andesite |
| Discovered | 1957 |
| Discovered by | Carlos Ponce Sanginés |
| Culture | Tiwanaku |
The Ponce Monolith, also known as the Ponce Stela, is a monumental stone sculpture from the pre-Columbian Tiwanaku civilization. It is located in the Kalasasaya area of the ruins of Tiwanaku in Bolivia. The statue holds a qiru in their left hand and a snuff tray in their right.[1]
The monolith was discovered by Spaniards, who carved a cross on the shoulder of the monument and left it buried. It was named after Bolivian archaeologist Carlos Ponce Sanginés, who headed the archaeology team that exhumed it in 1957.[2] It is the second largest monolith discovered in that area, after the Bennett Monolith.
In 2019, a series of new banknotes was introduced into circulation in Bolivia. On the reverse of the 200 boliviano note is the site of Kalasasaya with a view of the Ponce Monolith. The stela also appeared on a 1960 postage stamp.
- ^ Roddick, Andrew; Guengerich, Anna (4 January 2021). "The recent appearance of unexplained monoliths offers connections to the ancient past". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Criales, Juan Villanueva (7 February 2024). "Drunken Mountains: Analysis of the Bennett and Ponce Monoliths of Tiwanaku (AD 500–1100) from a Multispecies Perspective". Latin American Antiquity: 1–21. doi:10.1017/laq.2023.72. ISSN 1045-6635.