Tiwanaku zoomorphic iconography as indicator of population displacements possibly linked to zoonotic transmission Iconografía tiwanacota zoomorfa como indicador de desplazamientos poblacionales posiblemente vinculados a ciclos de transmisión zoonótica

Abstract

A total of 72 archaeological pieces of Tiwanaku iconography (ca. 1500-850 B.P.) were studied at the National Museum of Archaeology and the Regional Museum of Tiwanaku (La Paz, Bolivia), as well as at the archaeological site of Pariti (Lake Titicaca, Bolivia) with the aim of identifying wildlife representations linking ancient highland inhabitants with tropical lowlands and/or the Pacific Coast. Wildlife with which prehistoric groups had contact and could have been part of zoonotic transmission cycles that covered the Bolivian Amazon and the Pacific littoral were identified.