SAMAPAITA

SAMAPAITA

The weekend of November 25-27 we went to Santa Cruz.  The idea was to visit the ruins of Samapaita which Monica had visited with her mother.  Driving out of Santa Cruz along the old Santa Cruz - Cochabamba road one realizes for the first time why Santa Cruz's official name is Santa Cruz de la Sierra.  It had been a mystery to me because the perspective from the Chapare road into Santa Cruz is absolutely flat.  However, about 40Kms. out of the town the foothills of the Andes begin and the road which follows the course of the River Piraí begins to twist a little.  

The river which rises at Samaipata has cut a great canyon through the mountains which rise fairly steeply on either side.  The geological formation of red and yellow sandstone is very young and unstable, which means that avalanches are frequent, bringing huge rocks down on to the road.  They are made more common by the tremendous erosion caused by burning the forest on the slopes of the hills to make way for cultivation. The rock faces are quite dramatic with huge medallion "sculptures" where great slabs have fallen away. This area is being invaded by landless peasants from the Cochabamba valleys and elsewhere who simply arrive, decide where they want to stay, cut down the trees, burn the remainder and start  planting.  At first they erect a precarious structure of wooden poles which they cover with plastic.  As time goes by they progress to a more stable dwelling with a palm roof and wattle walls and later perhaps mud bricks and corrugated asbestos sheeting.  Human pressure on the land is the main cause of deforestation, erosion and destruction.

The vegetation is tropical at first but, as the road climbs, it becomes more temperate or sometimes Mediterranean with pines on the upper slopes. One of the most exciting aspects are the rock faces completely colonized by orchids or every kind which cling precariously to the smooth surfaces. There are some magnificent properties along the route, obviously the mansions of drug barons.  The people in this area are a mixture of Andean, Amazonian and lowland peoples because this area is a point of convergence of the Amazonian and Andean cultures.

120Kms. out of Santa Cruz is the signpost to "El Fuerte" or the Fort.  On the left a dirt track heads into the hills.  At first it descends and crosses the incipient River Piraí at the bottom of the gorge and then climbs steeply up to the "fort" which stands at 2,000m.  Fortunately it was dry because otherwise the road would have been impassable.  It was also fortunate that it was cloudy because up on the crest with no tree cover the sun is strong, even on a cloudy day.  There was also a stiff breeze blowing which was welcome and a novelty because in the Chapare winds are very rare.


The "fort" was not really a fort at all but a ceremonial centre of some kind.  It is a solid rounded rock of red sandstone forming the crest of a hill.  Into the rock a series of incisions have been made.  At the top there is a rounded, flat table.  There is also a kind of well-like depression with three seats cut into it.  This is where the priests would have sat.  There is another well and from this there descend two rectangular channels in one of which diamond shapes have been cut representing the skin markings of the rattlesnake.  The purpose of this is not clear but it would appear that liquid, either water or chicha, was poured into the well and flowed down the channels.  The incisions made the liquid flow more slowly so that by the time it reached the bottom it had become warmer.  At the bottom of the rock there are a couple of medallion shapes.  The one on the right is badly eroded but the one on the left clearly depicts a puma shape.  There are other carvings also depicting tropical jungle animals such as jaguars. The authors of this stage of the centre were the Chané, an Amazonian Indian tribe.

According to Chacho González, the UNIDO Bolivia national representative who accompanied a now famous achaeologist friend of his on some of the earliest studies of the rock, told me that some archaeologists believe that the site was a huge meteorological station because it sits astride a point where the tropical and Andean winds meet (This explains the fact that there is tropical vegetation on one side and barrenness on the other).  The two rectangular channels would therefore have acted as rain gauges.  On the right-hand side there is apparently a calendar cut into the rock which is hit by the sun in such a way that, in conjunction with the wind and rain information, it would allow them to determine the onset of the rainy season and hence predict the time to sow: this was one of the most important functions of the priestly class in all pre-Columbian American cultures.

On the right side of the rock rectangular niches have been cut into the rock, sometimes a small one beside a taller one.  It would appear that either statues were placed there or beautiful young girls were exhibited in them.  These niches may have been made by the later occupants of the centre, the Incas, who conquered the area at a later date.  None of the engraved motifs are of Inca origin. In some of the niches round holes are to be seen.  These were made by modern-day bounty hunters who thought that maybe there was treasure hidden in the rock and they tried to dynamite it!

The last occupants of the centre, and this is why it got the name "the "fort" were the conquering Spaniards who saw the strategic importance of such a site.  At 2,000m. it affords an all-round panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and a lookout station was posted there.  Four wooden posts were embedded in the rock and a palm roof probably afforded shade and protection from the rain.

All around the rock the vegetation is scarce and more temperate: Robert even found cranberries!  However, on the right side forest rises and inside it the microclimate is quite different: it is warm and humid.  In this forest there are a number of buildings which would appear to have been dwellings associated with the centre.  The site which was only discovered in 1974 is being excavated by the University of Bonn.  The day we were there was the last day of excavation for this season because the rains will soon begin and then it will be impossible to get up to the site.  They will start again in April or so.  These dwellings are being excavated and rebuilt using the original technique: adobe bricks coated with more mud on the outside.  A large amount of ceramics has been found at the site.  It is not clear as yet whether the this was merely a ceremonial site where people came at certain times of the year or whether it was a habitation site occupied all year round.  

Close to the nearest dwellings is a rectangular court with a double wall on three sides.  Apparently this was some kind of game court (ball games?) and there was seating on the three sides with the walls.  

As we wandered around the site, a condor did indeed pass by!  


The mystery is the water supply.  So far no water supply has been found in the immediate vicinity.  Two hydrologists were prospecting.  A little policeman on duty to guard the site, who provided the scant information we managed to glean, took us to see a natural well in the stone.  They have gone down 30m. and it still continues but it is now filled with leaves and vegetation to 8 m. from the surface.  It never fills up with water which would seem to indicate that it communicates with some underground stream but as yet no information is available on this.

He also took us to see a tree, the suburú, which drips sap all day long every day.  If you stand under it it feels like it is about to rain, large drops falling on your head.  This creates a special microclimate under the tree.

So far no publications have been produced on the excavations at Samaipata so there are no explanatory pamphlets or notes at the site.  This is a pity because I think people would derive greater benefit from their visit if some information was available.  However, according to the policeman, they are now preparing some explanatory boards which will be posted around the rock, and later a publication will be produced with the information they have got so far.