This summer, I’m embarking on a journey that blends ancient architecture, immersive technology, and art. I will be traveling deep into the heart of the Andes to continue a project that has been years in the making.
It all began when I was invited to help visualize the site of Puma Punku for an episode of Ancient Aliens. During production, I met Dr. Alexei Vranich, a renowned archaeologist known for his groundbreaking work on Tiwanaku and digital reconstructions of ancient sites. What began as a conversation during an admittedly silly show, turned into a shared vision: using 3D modeling and visual storytelling to bring clarity to two of the world’s most misunderstood archaeological sites.
Now, Dr. Vranich has invited me to travel to Cusco, Peru to collaborate on his current project; digitally reconstructing the ancient Incan capital, focusing on Sacsayhuamán, a site famed for its cyclopean stonework and ceremonial significance. Working alongside him, I’ll contribute my modeling and visualization skills to support a growing effort to understand how the Inca shaped their world through architecture.
But this journey doesn’t end in Cusco.
After our work at Sacsayhuamán, I’ll continue south to Bolivia to visit Puma Punku in person. While I’ve studied the site for through scans, structural drawings, and archival publications, this will be my first opportunity to walk the site myself. I plan to conduct on-site scans and visual documentation, focusing on specific blocks that may contribute to new structural hypotheses and modeling efforts.
Tiwanaku also spelled Tiahuanaco or Tianhuanacu is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, Bolivia. At its height around 800 AD, Tiwanaku was a vibrant Andean city, home to 10,000–20,000 people, known for its monumental stonework, terraced pyramids, sunken temples, and rich ceremonial culture. The site’s most famous features include the Gate of the Sun, the Akapana pyramid, and the complex modular stone blocks of Puma Punku.
What fascinates me most is that the Tiwanaku left behind no written language but they carved meaning into stone. Through recurring images on gateways, ceramics, and monoliths, they developed a visual language a symbolic system, animals, geometric patterns, and proportions that speaks volumes without a single word.
As a visual artist I am drawn to studying these symbols, trying to decode their grammar, find their rhythm, and understand how they reflect the worldview of an ancient civilization. These carvings are more than decoration. They are sacred symbols and I believe their art communicates to the present.
During the Ancient Aliens production, I created a series of illustration studies. I also created videos and a 3D model designed to visualize potential reconstructions, motifs, and architectural layouts of Puma Punku. The illustrations were based on deep research and artistic interpretation, yet many of them were ultimately not used in the final cut of the episode.
Rather than let them stay hidden, I’m offering them now as prints to help fund this next phase of the journey. These are not just concept sketches, they are pieces of my personal research about a civilization that communicated in stone.
View the Collection & Purchase Prints
Thank you for being part of this journey.
—Kevin Eslinger