Note 137 — Chapter VII

The Tiahuanaco monolith is interpreted by Squier [e], ch. xv; Markham [a], ch. ii; Gonzalez de la Rosa, "Les deux Tiahuanaco," CA xvi (1910); and by Posnansky, "El signo escalonado," CA xviii (1913). The latter regards the meander design, or its element, the stair-design in its various forms, as a symbol of the earth; and he believes Tiahuanaco to be the place of origin of this symbol, whence it spread northward into Mexico. It is, of course, among the Pueblo Indians of the United States an earth-symbol. If this be the correct interpretation, the central figure is the sun, rising or standing above the earth. Bandelier [e] gives ancient and modern myths in regard to Titicaca and its environs.