# Why did Tiwanaku fall? · Puma Punku and Tiwanaku > Three answers have been proposed. A long drought from about AD 1100 made the raised-field agriculture fail and the city could not be fed. leads, with… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/puma-punku/questions/QST0D69YH9T3EKS/why-did-tiwanaku-fall Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:58:32+00:00 --- **0** # Why did Tiwanaku fall? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·3 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: the state's ritual and political order broke down, with monuments desecrated and the elite's authority…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Three answers have been proposed. A long drought from about AD 1100 made the raised-field agriculture fail and the city could not be fed. leads, with evidence 1 for, 1 against: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible. ## Why it matters The city of 10,000 to 20,000 was abandoned within a century or two after AD 1000; the cause bears on how climate and politics interact in the Andes⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69Y9QM22TD/tiwanaku-urban-origins-distributed-centers-and-animate)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69YA782SZ9/climate-variation-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-andean). ## Answers 3 [**A long drought from about AD 1100 made the raised-field agriculture fail and the city could not be fed.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/puma-punku/answers/ANS0D69YPXG1XA0/a-long-drought-from-about-ad-1100-made-the-raised-field) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Most likely [**The state's ritual and political order broke down, with monuments desecrated and the elite's authority…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/puma-punku/answers/ANS0D69YQMY4129/the-states-ritual-and-political-order-broke-down-with) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 1 for Most likely [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/puma-punku/answers/ANS0D69YR4J1Z33/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 1997[Binford et al. puts forward: a long drought from about AD 1100 made the raised-field agriculture fail and the city could not be fed.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69YA782SZ9/climate-variation-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-andean) 1. 1997[Binford et al.: lake Titicaca levels and Quelccaya ice-core data show aridity after about AD 1100.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69YA782SZ9/climate-variation-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-andean)For: A long drought from about AD 1100 made the raised-field agriculture fail and the city could not be fed. 1. 2015[Janusek puts forward: the state's ritual and political order broke down, with monuments desecrated and the elite's authority…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69Y9QM22TD/tiwanaku-urban-origins-distributed-centers-and-animate) 1. 2015[Janusek: decline of the monumental core is dated from about AD 1000, before the drought's onset.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69Y9QM22TD/tiwanaku-urban-origins-distributed-centers-and-animate)Against: A long drought from about AD 1100 made the raised-field agriculture fail and the city could not be fed. 1. 2015[Janusek: monoliths and architecture show deliberate defacement in the terminal period.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D69Y9QM22TD/tiwanaku-urban-origins-distributed-centers-and-animate)For: The state's ritual and political order broke down, with monuments desecrated and the elite's authority… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/puma-punku/questions/QST0D69YH9T3EKS/why-did-tiwanaku-fall%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/puma-punku/questions/QST0D69YH9T3EKS/why-did-tiwanaku-fall%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/puma-punku/questions/QST0D69YH9T3EKS/why-did-tiwanaku-fall%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/puma-punku/questions/QST0D69YH9T3EKS/why-did-tiwanaku-fall%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/puma-punku/questions/QST0D69YH9T3EKS/why-did-tiwanaku-fall%23add-source) Where it fits Puma Punku and Tiwanaku **Why did Tiwanaku fall?** Key question · you're here [ Ask a question under this one ]