Taypi, a View from the Middle (Court): analysis of liminal space in provincial Tiwanaku monumental architecture (Omo M10A)

During what is now known as the Middle Horizon period (A.D. 500-1100) the Tiwanaku civilization influenced much of the south central Andes from its highland capital, situated in the southern Titicaca Basin in the Bolivian altiplano. The Tiwanaku established colonies in several strategic areas throughout the region -- the largest enclave located in the coastal middle Moquegua valley in southern Peru. Here the colonists constructed the only known Tiwanaku monumental architecture outside their highland homeland. The Omo Temple (M10A) is therefore critical in understanding provincial Tiwanaku power and ideological practices. Utilizing built environment theory, this thesis provides insight into these practices by focusing on the middle court, an architectural area situated between the public lower court plaza and the private upper court complex. An examination of access patterns will help situate the middle court as a liminal architectural space, in which visitors traveling through the structure would be "betwixt and between" (Turner 1964) -- an area between public and private, profane and truly sacred space. This liminal aspect was emphasized by the presence of platforms at each of the three access points to the middle court. These elevated thresholds acted to privilege those transitioning from the lower to middle court space. Access patterns, supplemented with analysis of architectural elements and artifact data, indicate a tripartite processional process that contradicts the dualism-based interpretations which have dominated archaeological explanations of ancient Andean architecture and ritual practices.