| Ponce Monolith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Andesite |
| Discovered | 1957 |
| Discovered by | Carlos Ponce Sanginés |
| Culture | Tiwanaku |
The Ponce Monolith, also known as the Ponce Stela, is a monumental stone sculpture from the pre-Columbian Tiwanaku civilization. It is located in the Kalasasaya area of the ruins of Tiwanaku in Bolivia. The statue holds a qiru in their left hand and a snuff tray in their right. [1]
The monolith was discovered by Spaniards, who carved a cross on the shoulder of the monument and left it buried. It was named after Bolivian archaeologist Carlos Ponce Sanginés, who headed the archaeology team that exhumed it in 1957. [2] It is the second largest monolith discovered in that area, after the Bennett Monolith.
In 2019, a series of new banknotes was introduced into circulation in Bolivia. On the reverse of the 200 boliviano note is the site of Kalasasaya with a view of the Ponce Monolith. The stela also appeared on a 1960 postage stamp.
