The Bolivian high plateau, situated between the two Andean cordilleras, at an altitude of c. 3800-4000 metres above sea level. The Tiwanaku State (Tiwanaku IV and V, c. AD 500- 1150) - the heartland of which was situated in the southern Lake Titicaca Basin - was one of the most important pre-Inca civilisations of the South Central Andes. Since the late 1950s - and especially since the mid- 1980s - understanding of the Tiwanaku culture has increased rapidly. However, no systematic study of Tiwanaku burial practices - combining older and newer archaeological data with information from historical and ethnographic sources - has been available. This study fills this gap and furthers advances the general understanding of the Tiwanaku culture.