CHAPTER II
THE MEGALITHIC AGE
There is a mystery still unsolved, on the plateau of Lake Titicaca, which, if stones could speak, would reveal a story of the deepest interest. Much of the difficulty in the solution of this mystery is caused by the nature of the region, in the present day, where the enigma still defies explanation. We must, therefore, first acquire some knowledge of the face of the country before we have the question, as it now stands, placed before us.
The great cordilleras of the Andes, in latitude 14°28′S., unite at the knot of Vilcañota, and then separate, forming the eastern Andes on one side, containing Illimani and Illampu (except Aconcagua and Huascaran, the loftiest measured peaks of the new world), and the maritime cordillera on the other. Between them there is an extensive and very lofty plateau, 13,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea, with the lake called Titicaca, or Inticaca, in its centre. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. It was formerly much larger. The surface of the
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