The city of Tiwanaku, capital of a powerful pre-Hispanic empire that dominated a large area of the southern Andes and beyond, reached its apogee between 500 and 900 A.D. Its monumental remains testify to the cultural and political significance of this civilization, which is distinct from any of the other pre-Hispanic empires of the Americas. Within Tiahuanaco's ruins archaeologists have labeled six architectural complexes, all of which were used for religious ceremonies. The most important structure, the Kalasasaya, is near the center of the site; the Subterranean Temple lies to the east, and the enclosures of Putuni. Laka Kollu, and Q'eri Kala are on the west. The Kalasasaya, a large, enclosed platform, is the site of the famous Gate of the Sun, at the center of which is a figure wearing a radiating headdress and carrying a staff in each hand. At the center of the Subterranean Temple stood the 7.3 m-tall (22 ft) Bennett Stele (named for its discoverer), which shows a figure in head dress carrying a large beaker in one hand and a shell in the other.