Machu Picchu

 

(mä'chū pēk'chū) , Inca site in Peru, about 50 mi (80 km) NW of Cuzco. It is perched high upon a rock in a narrow saddle between two sharp mountain peaks and overlooks the Urubamba River 2,000 ft (600 m) below. Ignored and later forgotten by Spanish colonial authorities because of its abandoned condition, the site was uncovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. The imposing city is one of the largest pre-Columbian sites found virtually intact. It contains rare examples of religious monuments, including a carved stone (the Intiwatana), a small tower (the Torreón), and a cave with a masonry entrance (the Intimachay). Such indigenous shrines were generally destroyed by Spanish authorities. Perhaps the most spectacular ruin in the Americas, Machu Picchu spreads over 5 sq mi (13 sq km), with over 3,000 steps linking its many different levels. It shows admirable architectural design and execution, including a terracing system built on extremely steep terrain; it has been estimated that 60% of the effort expended on construction was devoted to creating the terraces. Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that it represents a mountain retreat of the Inca leader Pachacuti Yupanqui, who ruled c.1438–1471. Investigators have suggested the site may have served as a religious sanctuary and that the masonry windows at two of its monuments may have been aligned so as to define the June and December solstices. Experts do not agree whether the numerous steep walls at Machu Picchu and surrounding Inca sites were built as military fortifications or simply to delimit the boundaries of these special state installations.

Bibliography

See H. Bingham, Lost City of the Incas (1948, repr. 1969).

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
View of Huayna Picchu towering above the ruins of Machu Picchu
State Party	Peru
Type	Mixed
Criteria	i, iii, vii, ix
Reference	274
Region†	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription History
Inscription	1983  (7th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Pikchu "Old Peak") is a pre-Columbian Inca city located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) altitude^[1] on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. It is often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas". The site was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization".^[2]

Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911, who made the first scientific confirmation of the site and wrote a best-selling work about it.

History

Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire, and was abandoned less than 100 years later, as the empire collapsed under Spanish conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 50 miles from [Cusco], the Inca capital, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew to enshroud the site, and few knew of its existence. In 1911, Yale historian and explorer Hiram Bingham brought the "lost" city to the world’s attention. Bingham and others hypothesized that the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca people or the spiritual center of the "virgins of the suns," while curators of a recent exhibit have speculated that Machu Picchu was a royal retreat.

It is thought that the site was chosen for its unique location and geological features. It is said that the silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu represents the face of the Inca looking upward towards the sky, with the largest peak, Huayna Picchu (meaning Young Peak), representing his pierced nose.

In 1913, the site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April issue to Machu Picchu.

On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World.

References

• Bingham, Hiram (1979 [1930]) Machu Picchu a Citadel of the Incas. Hacker Art Books, New York.
• Burger, Richard and Lucy Salazar (eds.) (2004) Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. Yale University Press, New Haven.
• Frost, Peter (1995) Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary. Nueves Imágines, Lima.
• Reinhard, Johan (2002) Machu Picchu: The Sacred Center. Lima: Instituto Machu Picchu (2nd ed.).
• Richardson, Don (1981) Eternity in their Hearts. Regal Books, Ventura. ISBN 0-8307-0925-8, pp. 34–35.
• Wright, Kenneth and Alfredo Valencia (2000) Machu Picchu: A Civil Engineering Marvel. ASCE Press, Reston.

External links

• Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (World Heritage)
• Information about Machu Picchu and the Incas
• Virtual Tour to Machu Picchu
• Machu Picchu on National Geographic
• Machu Picchu on Mappington Maps, Photos, Videos, Articles, and User Opinions of Machu Picchu
• Machu Picchu travel guide from Wikitravel

Coordinates: 13°09′47″S, 72°32′44″W

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