Posansky realised that this area was an astronomical observatory, however the points, which should have marked the winter and summer solstices, appeared to be slightly misaligned. Posansky concluded that if the ancient builders had demonstrated an ability to create this magnificent city with its precision engineering, it would be unlikely that they would have botched such a fundamental and important feature. Science, as ever, lent a hand to solve the puzzle. Today, the two tropics are 23.5° north and south of the equator, however, over a cycle of 41,000 years, the position of the tropics changes along with the Earth’s roll in space (the obliquity of the ecliptic) from 22.1° to 24.5° .

Posansky therefore set about establishing at what point in history the two observation points were correctly aligned with the enclosure. His result did not make for comfortable reading, for he concluded that the Kalasasaya was constructed some 15,000 years BCE. (48) Actually he was wrong. But not very wrong. Of course it may well be that the ancient builders, whoever they were, (remembering that the city was constructed before the distant memory of even the Incas) simply made a clumsy attempt at building the enclosure.

This appears unlikely, and together with information that the Sphinx and the pyramids have already pushed back our accepted view of when mankind was in a position to undertake vast construction and astronomical projects, an early date may well be valid. Posansky’s work was rejected at first, however his research and conclusions came to the attention of a four man German Astronomical Commission whose purpose was to study archaeological sites in the Andes.

This team, led by Dr Hans Ludendorff of the Potsdam Astronomical Observatory studied the Kalasasaya between 1927 and 1930. The team concluded that Posansky was basically right, although they considered that construction probably took place 9300 years BCE rather than Posansky’s favoured 15,000 years. (49) There was also other evidence to support the early dating of the city. One of the most famous features of the ancient city is the ‘Gateway to the Sun’.

This feature, nearly ten feet high, 12.5 feet wide and carved out of a single block of stone is adorned with pictures of various animals. Two of which are intriguing. One of the pictures is of an elephant, for elephants were unknown on the American continent; there have been no such animals since about 10,000BCE when a creature with tusks and trunk, the Cuvieronius, became extinct. Yet someone had seen such a beast and carved it’s image onto the Gateway, supporting Posansky’s and others redating of the founding of the city.

The second picture was recognised by Professor Denis Saurat of France. He noted what was quite clearly the head of a toxodon, a prehistoric animal now extinct. According to old (Linnean) classification, the Toxodon and the family Toxodontidae were South American notoungulates of the Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. (The Pliocene Epoch preceded the Pleistocene and ended about 1.6 million years ago).

The Toxodon itself is described as rhinoceros-like, about 2.75 meters long fully grown, and probably a mixed browser and grazer. It is unlikely that Saurat misidentified the animal for images of toxodons are also featured on ancient Tiahuanaco pottery and even in nearby sculptures. (50) But how could mankind have drawn pictures of such ancient and extinct creatures unless he had seen them? The answer to this puzzle may lie in a prehistoric waterbed in Texas, USA. But first, a quick resume of time.