Lynn
02-10-2010, 04:50 PM
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu means “Old Mountain” is a pre Columbian Inca site located 2400 meters (7875 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 K (50 miles) northwest of Cusco. Machu Picchu is often referred to as the “Lost City of the Inca’s)
It was built around the year 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest. It was forgotten for centuries but came back into light in 1911 by Hiram Bingham who was an American historian. Now it is an important tourist destination.
Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry stone walls. The primary buildings are the Intihuantana (The Temple of the Sun) and the room or Three Windows. This is the sacred site.
Why was it built? Theory is the settlement was built to control economy of the conquered religions. Or it might well have been built as a prison for a select few who committed heinous crimes against society. The most accepted theory is that of a retreat or estate for the Incan Emperor, Pachacuti.
The city is saddled between two mountains, with a commanding view down two valleys’ and nearly impassible mountain at its back. It has a natural water supply for springs that could not easily be blocked, and enough land to grow food for about 400 times the amount of people that lived there. The hillsides have been terraced, not only to provide for more room to grow crops but too also make it harder for invaders to ascend. The ultimate plan in its design was to make it a
highly defendable place.
The style of construction is known as Ashlars in which blocks of stone are cut and fit together without the use of any mortar. The fit is so fine that not even a knife blade can fit between the rocks. Too as the land is prone to Earthquake the constriction style without mortar made it stronger from collapse.
How it was constructed is a mystery as the Inca’s did not seem to make use of the wheel. It is thought that it was sheer man power. Pushing the stones up the slopes and levering them into place.
One of the most important finds is the Intihuantana, which is a column of stone rising from a block of stone the size of a grand piano. Intihuantana literally means “Hitching post of the Sun”. As Winter solstice approached, when the Sun seemed to disappear more each day, a priest would hold a ceremony to tie the Sun to the stone to prevent it from going away altogether.
Most of the stones were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, but the Spanish never found Manchu Picchu so it remained intact. Also Mummies have been found there, most of them were women.
It is thought that few people outside the Incan’s closest retainers were acutely aware of Manchu Picchu’s existence. Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived the smallpox spread ahead of them. Fifty percent of the population had been killed by the disease by 1527. The government began to fail; part of the empire failed and fell into Civil War. So by the time Pizarro, the Incan’s conqueror, arrived in Cuzco in 1532 Machu Picchu was already forgotten.
Lynn
Machu Picchu means “Old Mountain” is a pre Columbian Inca site located 2400 meters (7875 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 K (50 miles) northwest of Cusco. Machu Picchu is often referred to as the “Lost City of the Inca’s)
It was built around the year 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest. It was forgotten for centuries but came back into light in 1911 by Hiram Bingham who was an American historian. Now it is an important tourist destination.
Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry stone walls. The primary buildings are the Intihuantana (The Temple of the Sun) and the room or Three Windows. This is the sacred site.
Why was it built? Theory is the settlement was built to control economy of the conquered religions. Or it might well have been built as a prison for a select few who committed heinous crimes against society. The most accepted theory is that of a retreat or estate for the Incan Emperor, Pachacuti.
The city is saddled between two mountains, with a commanding view down two valleys’ and nearly impassible mountain at its back. It has a natural water supply for springs that could not easily be blocked, and enough land to grow food for about 400 times the amount of people that lived there. The hillsides have been terraced, not only to provide for more room to grow crops but too also make it harder for invaders to ascend. The ultimate plan in its design was to make it a
highly defendable place.
The style of construction is known as Ashlars in which blocks of stone are cut and fit together without the use of any mortar. The fit is so fine that not even a knife blade can fit between the rocks. Too as the land is prone to Earthquake the constriction style without mortar made it stronger from collapse.
How it was constructed is a mystery as the Inca’s did not seem to make use of the wheel. It is thought that it was sheer man power. Pushing the stones up the slopes and levering them into place.
One of the most important finds is the Intihuantana, which is a column of stone rising from a block of stone the size of a grand piano. Intihuantana literally means “Hitching post of the Sun”. As Winter solstice approached, when the Sun seemed to disappear more each day, a priest would hold a ceremony to tie the Sun to the stone to prevent it from going away altogether.
Most of the stones were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, but the Spanish never found Manchu Picchu so it remained intact. Also Mummies have been found there, most of them were women.
It is thought that few people outside the Incan’s closest retainers were acutely aware of Manchu Picchu’s existence. Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived the smallpox spread ahead of them. Fifty percent of the population had been killed by the disease by 1527. The government began to fail; part of the empire failed and fell into Civil War. So by the time Pizarro, the Incan’s conqueror, arrived in Cuzco in 1532 Machu Picchu was already forgotten.
Lynn