The New International Encyclopædia/Aymara
AYMARA, ī'mȧ-rä'. The name commonly
applied to a confederacy or group of semi-civilized
tribes centring in the high plateau about Lake
Titicaca, in Peru and Bolivia, and numbering
now, including mixed bloods, more than half a
million. At the time of the discovery they were
subject to the Incas, but there is considerable
ground for the opinion held by some writers that
they are themselves the originators of the Inca
(Quichua) civilization. Physically they are
distinguished for their great chest development,
due to the rarefied air which they breathe. The
mysterious cyclopean ruins of Tiahuanaco are
within their territory, and are probably of
Aymara origin. The language appears to constitute
a distinct linguistic stock, although it shows
strong Quichuan correspondences.