Sajama Lines
Rayas del Sajama · Sajama Geoglyph Network
Formative to Imperial, 900 BCE–1500 CE active; origins possibly 1500 BCE·Aymara and pre-Aymara Andean; later Tiwanaku-Inca incorporation·🇧🇴 Oruro Department, Bolivia
About
About Sajama Lines
Densest geoglyph field on Earth: >16,000 km network of 2,500+ straight incised lines (1–3 m wide) radiating from ritual centers across 22,000 km² of Altiplano around Nevado Sajama, built over 3 millennia by Aymara and earlier cultures. Lines follow chakra shrine pilgrimage routes like Inca ceques but vaster; discovered via satellite by A. Sevillano.
Why it mattersLongest human-made line network globally; Andean sacred geography on monumental scale exceeding Nazca in total length
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Purpose: pilgrimage vs boundary vs trade routes – interwoven
- 02Dating precision - surface pottery vs direct OSL limited
Theories
- 01Ceque-like distributed shrine system earliest evidence
- 02Altiplano social memory landscape
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 900 BCE origins, majority 800–1600 CE
- Period
- Formative to Imperial, 900 BCE–1500 CE active; origins possibly 1500 BCE
- Culture
- Aymara and pre-Aymara Andean; later Tiwanaku-Inca incorporation
- Purpose
- Aymara ayllu ritual pilgrimage paths, calendrical shrine connections (huacas)
- Abandoned
- Post-conquest partial abandonment but some in use
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
900 BCE
Earliest lines dated via surface sherds
800 CE
Tiwanaku integration
2010
Sevillano satellite mapping discovery
2015
UNESCO tentative evaluation
On the ground
Structures & features
18.0700° S · 68.8700° W · 3850 m · 3 mapped features
Central Shrine Hub
shrine centerRadial hub where multiple lines originate near chakra
18.0500° S · 68.8500° WNorth Radial Line
geoglyph line20 km dead-straight incised line heading to Nevado Sajama foothills
18.0000° S · 68.8800° WPilgrimage cairn cluster
cairnStone cairns marking intersection of three Sajama lines
18.1200° S · 68.9000° W
Gallery