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Nowadays it is a Historic National Sanctuary,
protected by the Peruvian Government by
means of Law Nº 001.81.AA of 1981, that
tries to conserve the geological formations
and archaeological remains inside the
Sanctuary, besides protecting its flora,
fauna and landscape's beauty. The whole park
has an extension of 32,592 Has.; that is
80,535 acres (325.92 km²; 125.83 mile²).
Machupicchu (the Inkan City) is located on
kilometer 112 (70 miles) of the Qosqo-Quillabamba
railway; the train station is known as
"Puente Ruinas" and lies at an altitude of
2000 mts (6560 ft.). From that station there
are buses in order to get to South-America's
most famous Archaeological Group that is
found at an average altitude of 2450 mts
(8038 ft.), and at 13°09'23'' of South
Latitude and 72°32'34'' of West Longitude.
The climate in that sector has also some
characteristics that are found all over the
region; thus, only two well defined seasons
are distinguished: the rainy season between
September to April, and the dry season from
May to August. Nevertheless, Machupicchu is
found by the commencement of the Cusquenian
Amazonian Jungle, so the chance of having
rains or showers is latent by any time of
the year. In the hottest days it is possible
to get even about 26° Celsius (78.8°
Fahrenheit), while that in the coldest early
mornings in June and July the temperature
may drop to -2° C. (28.4° F); the average
annual temperature is 16 degrees Celsius.
Annually, there is an average of rains from
1571 mm. (61 in.) to 2381 millimeters (93
in.). It is obvious that the monthly
relative humidity is in direct relationship
to rains, so the humidity average is from
77% during the dry months to 91% in the
rainy months.
The
american airline is truly one of the best deals of
budget airlines. The us airlines have always attended to the needs of their customers. The
philippine airlines will also be working on this.
The Machupicchu Historic National Sanctuary
is found over a great granite orogenic
structure baptized by Dr. Isaiah Bowman as
the " Vilcapampa Batholith" that outcrops
over about 400 km² (154 mile²). Its
formation belongs in the scale of geological
time to the Paleozoic or Inferior Primary
and may have an approximate age of 250
million years. The Vilcapampa Batholith's
white-gray granite is an intrusive igneous
rock (magma cooled off in great profundities
inside the earth); it is mainly compound in
average by 60% of feldspar, 30% of quartz,
and a 10% of mica. That granite has
interlaced equigranular texture and
possesses from 6° to 7° of hardness in the
MOHS scale with a resistance of 1200 Kg/cm².
Likewise, in this region there are some
other rocks corresponding to the Inferior
Paleozoic; such as schist, quartzite and
metamorphic conglomerations that might have
an age from 350 to 450 million years.
Machupicchu (like most of the Quechua names
in the region) is a compound word that comes
from machu = old or ancient, and picchu =
peak or mountain; therefore, Machupicchu is
translated as "Old Mountain". The famous
mountain that is seen in front, and appears
in most of the classical views of the site
is named Waynapicchu (Young Mountain).
Unfortunately the original names of the
mentioned sectors are lost, Machupicchu,
Waynapicchu and some other proper names used
today are contemporary ones; ascribed
probably by farmers living in the region
before Bingham's arrival. However, according
to studies about some XVI century documents,
the original name of the whole area might be
"Picchu".
It is known that Hiram Bingham, a descendant
of missionaries, was the man who found
Machupicchu for the contemporary world and
modern science. He was a North-American
historian born in Honolulu, Hawaii; who in
1907 taught the South-American History and
Geography course in Yale University. As a
history professor specialized in South-America
he was chosen as delegate of his country to
the First Pan-American Scientific Congress
carried out in Chile in 1908. Years before,
in 1906 he had begun his activities as
explorer taking a horseback journey from
Caracas to Bogota, following the liberator
Simon Bolivar's way. Then he followed the
old colonial trade way from Buenos Aires to
Lima, arriving to this Andean region in
1909. That year, he was invited by the
prefect of Apurimac Mr. Juan Jose Nuñez in
order to start an exploration from Abancay
towards Choquekirau and to study what it was
believed to be the last Capital of the Inkas.
Since the end of the colonial epoch, many
myths had been created about the existence
the "Inkas' treasures" that according to
tradition had been taken by Manko Inka is
his retreat to Willkapanpa (willka = sacred,
panpa = plain; its Spanish form is "Vilcabamba");
thus it was so common by that time to find
treasure hunters willing to get to this last
Inkas' dwelling. That same intention moved
Bingham to study ancient chronicles and even
to visit Spanish archives, and subsequently
in 1911 to come back to Peru with the aim of
performing studies of geography, geology and
botany, and for sure, also in order to try
finding Willkapanpa.
In Qosqo, Albert Giesecke, a compatriot of
his and rector of the local University told
him that in January 1911 he had taken a trip
towards the Convencion Valley invited by the
rich landlord Mr. Braulio Polo y la Borda,
who told Bingham that on the hills facing
Mandor there were ancient constructions
covered by vegetation where cattle were
frequently lost. Moreover, Giesecke had
spoken to Melchor Arteaga, a half-breed man
who rented farmlands in the area and had
seen the Inkan buildings and who had
promised to take him to the ruins during the
dry season. The information was reserved for
Bingham, and on July 23, 1911 he showed up
in Mandor along with a policeman, Sergeant
Carrasco, who escorted him by order of the
Peruvian government, and two members of his
expedition. Over there they met Melchor
Arteaga who would be the guide in order to
get to the Inkan City. Early the next day it
was cold and showering, and Arteaga did not
like the idea of going up the ruins, his
attitude changed positively when Bingham
offered to pay him one silver “sol”, after
examining the field they decided to climb up
by the sector where nowadays is the
zigzagging road. After the exhausting climb,
at noon they arrived at another hut where
they found Anacleto Alvarez and Toribio
Recharte, two humble peasants who along with
their families lived in the area about four
years and cultivated the pre-Hispanic
farming terraces. After a short break, they
provided an eight year old boy as the guide
for Bingham and his military escort in order
to get the Inkan buildings that were
partially covered with entangled vegetation.
That was how Bingham, at 35 years old,
stumbled onto Machupicchu; a fortuitous
happening that made manifest a great "discovery".
That day, the time he spent exploring,
taking pictures, drawing and describing
Machupicchu was about four hours. Later he
continued with his journey arriving even as
far as Rosaspata, Ñust'a Hisp'ana,
Pampaconas and Espiritu Pampa; places that
apparently did not attract the explorer so
much.
After his exploration, Bingham went back to
the USA in order to put together a
multidisciplinary expedition ant to look for
economic support that was granted to him by
the Yale University and the National
Geographic Society. Back in Peru in 1912,
the Peruvian government in Lima facing
Bingham's request in order to execute works
in Machupicchu, by means of law given on
October 31, 1912, authorized him to carry
out his projected works. Besides, according
to the fourth article of that authorization
Bingham could freely take out of the country
all the obtained pieces during his
explorations, but with commitment of giving
them back to Peru's simple petition. It was
an authorization in the name of "international
etiquette" that infringed the current law
and caused an irreparable damage to Peru's
cultural heritage, because those objects
taken in 1912 are still kept in Yale
University. It was in 1912 when the
vegetation was cleared, extensive
excavations were performed and most of the
Inkan tombs were found around Machupicchu.
Some months later, due to the great success
of Bingham’s publications in the USA, it was
decided to organize a new expedition for
1914-15. Not even for that occasion the
expedition got previous authorization in
order to perform explorations or excavations
in Peru, there were serious complaints and a
very strong opposition against Bingham works,
thus in August 1915 he fled back to the USA.
At the end, again in 1916, the Peruvian
government authorized the departure of the
pieces found by that expedition, but this
time they were given back to Peru in 1921.
According to our history, in 1536 Manko Inka
or Manko II began the war against the
Spanish invaders, carrying out the famous
siege of the city in which Manko was on the
point of getting his final victory. But,
after 8 months of bloody war he was defeated
by the Spaniards and their allied tribes (old
enemies of the Inkas). The retreat was
unavoidable and Manko dissolved the gross of
his army so that soldiers could take care of
their families and devote their time to
agriculture. Manko Inka beat a retreat
towards Vilcabamba (Willkapanpa) following
the Chinchero way and passing through
Ollantaytambo where he won a victorious
battle over the Spaniards; and finally he
went deeply into the jungle, establishing
thus his new operations center. The bloody
war between Inkas and Spaniards continued.
Manko was murdered in 1545 by some Diego de
Almagro (a partner of Pizarro and the
conquest) followers that were fugitives to
whom the Inka had heathenly welcomed after
their defeat and sentence to death for
having assassinated Francisco Pizarro in
Lima and for having rebelled against the
established colonial order. Manko was
succeeded by his son Sayri Tupaq who was
persuaded by some of his relatives from
Qosqo (faithful to the Spanish crown) to
agree upon with the vice royal authority. He
traveled to Lima and had a meeting with the
Viceroy that conceded him some privileges
and the Oropesa Marquisate that comprised
lands in the present-day districts of Yucay,
Urubamba, Maras and Chinchero. Apparently
satisfied, he constructed his adobe palace
in Yucay but died in 1560, perhaps poisoned
by Quechuas opposing the agreement with the
invaders. After Sayri Tupaq's death, his
brother Titu Kusi Yupanki assumed the power.
The new Inka dwelling in Vilcabamba also
admitted political and religious committees
from Qosqo and Lima in order to get an
agreement with the Viceroy. In 1568 he was
baptized in the Christian way and named
Diego de Castro; by that time he died
because of a sickness being then succeeded
by his step brother Tupaq Amaru. Tupaq Amaru
was too young and inexperienced and was
advised by a group of veterans that saw in
the conquerors their relentless enemy and
continued their war. The viceroy ordered the
Inka's capture sending an army of almost 300
soldiers, led by Martin Hurtado de Arbieto
and captain Martin Garcia Oñaz de Loyola;
they arrived to Vilcabamba giving different
battles but the Inka and his family had quit
even farther inside the forest. But finally
the last Quechua Monarch was captured and
taken to Qosqo along with his followers by
the same Garcia Oñaz de Loyola (who later
married Beatriz Coya, Tupaq Amaru's niece
and heiress of the Oropesa Marquisate).
After a quick judgment he was sentenced to
death and subsequently decapitated in the
great city's plaza before the cold glance of
Viceroy Toledo on September 24, 1572. His
remains were kept in the Santo Domingo
Church; thus the last man of the Inkan
dynasty was murdered, after 36 years of war
willing to recover their Quechua nation.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham believed that he had
found Manko Inka's Vilcabamba in Machupicchu;
that is demonstrated wrong today because the
exact location of that city and some other
sites stated in chronicles are already known.
On the other hand, today it is frequently
asked how 150 or 180 Spaniards, the first
ones who arrived here, could conquer so
easily the Inkan Civilization that had from
12 to 16 million people; what is true, is
that it was not a consequence of their
physical power neither of their privileged
wisdom, but simply because when the invaders
arrived here there was a bloody civil war.
Qosqo was always Tawantinsuyo's capital, its
legitimate monarch was Thupa Kusi Wallpaq,
whom history knows as Waskar Inka who had a
step brother named Atawallpa that wanted to
usurp power moving himself to Tumipanpa in
present day Cuenca, Ecuador, where he
crowned himself as the new Inka. Atawallpa
was willing to overthrow his step brother,
who after some battles was seized in October,
1532; subsequently, the Spaniards arrived to
the Peruvian coasts and in November entered
into the city of Cajamarca. Spaniards seized
Atawallpa who from his imprisonment ordered
to murder Waskar and all the Cusquenian
"orejones" ("big eared people" = the Inkan
nobility). As soon as they were told about
the happenings, the Spaniards blamed and
sued Atawallpa and imposed the death
sentence upon him. After having murdered
Atawallpa, they went towards Qosqo, where
they were welcomed believing that they were
avengers of the Inkan Capital because they
had murdered its enemy. Moreover, they were
considered as gods because they were so
different, had white skin, beard, fire
weapons, horses; and even, Quechuas believed
that horse and Spaniard were a single being,
able to split into two. Besides, it was also
believed that they were divinities because
there was an old myth that stated that the
Inkas' gods had to arrive by ship, exactly
how Spaniards did. Because of all those
reasons they were accepted and welcomed in
the Quechuas' Capital. Its inhabitants made
them know everything they had, their palaces,
temples, towns and cities; but, by that time
no one said anything about Machupicchu
because it seems that it was a very special
and secret city or otherwise it was already
lost and forgotten. The archaeological
evidences state a total Spanish absence,
there are no influences in pottery or
architecture, and the "idolatry extirpators"
(Catholic priests) did not destroy its
temples as it happened in every spot known
by Spaniards; thus it is supposed that
Spaniards did not arrive and perhaps did not
know anything about Machupicchu.
Because of its location strategically
established for its protection, because of
its number of temples and their
architectonic quality, because of the small
amount of "kanchas" (apartments for extended
families), and because of the several
characteristics that Machupicchu presents:
originally, it was a regional power center
dependent from Qosqo. That is, it was a
small religious and political capital.
Surely, it served as a dwelling for the Inka
or any high ranked dignitary from the
Capital, as well as for a selected nobility
that had many privileges and was served by
hundreds of servants. Most modern
archaeologists and historians state that
Machupicchu was made built and used by Inka
Pachakuteq, who was the Tawantinsuyo's
greatest statesman and ruled from 1438 to
1471, as his "Royal Estate". Scholars use
for this assertion the chronological dating
given by the carbon 14 or radiocarbon, its
doubtless "Imperial Inka" architectonic
style, the predominant ceramic pieces, and a
couple of ancient chronicles found in the
Qosqo archives. Even more, the
archaeological evidences discard totally any
possibility of pre-Inkan settlements in this
region.
According to the buildings that are found in
the Inkan City, the population during its
apogee is estimated to have been about 1000
people. Osteologist John W. Verano in a
recent study of the human remains found by
the Bingham expeditions, states that there
was a relative balance between the male and
female population in Machupicchu. Thus it
discards the theory based in George Eaton’s
study that mistakenly asserted that 80 % of
that population were women; that theory said
that in Machupicchu was an important "Aqllawasi"
(House of Chosen Women), chosen among the
prettiest and most virtuous, they were
considered as the Sun's wives. Many modern
scholars suggest that a large part of them
were the Inka's wives too, considering that
he was the son of the Sun; therefore, a
living god. Thus the Inka lived in his
property, along with his wives. It was
normal for the Inka to have hundreds of
concubines, and for example, our history
states that Wayna Qhapaq who was father of
Waskar and Atawallpa had more than 400
children. Nevertheless, his main wife must
have been a sister of his; only that way
they could keep the "solar blood" that they
supposedly had. The throne heir had to be a
son of the Inka and his sister. From
Verano’s meticulous study is also known that
Machupicchu’s population was ethnically
heterogeneous and people were not really
strong neither showed any signs of having
participated in warlike activities.
Furthermore, his classification fits
perfectly with the theory that Machupicchu
was a royal estate belonging to the Inka
Pachakuteq, and the human remains belong to
the servants of that estate. The height of
the adult men was an average of 1.57 meters
(5’2” ft.) and that of women 1.48 m. (4’11”
ft.) Moreover, Verano states that there is
no unequivocal evidence of syphilis or any
similar bacterial sickness. Though, there
are two probable cases of tuberculosis.
Today, the reasons that led to depopulation
of the Inkan City are unknown; although,
some hypothetical reasons that are in a
logical frame are outlined. It is believed
that once there was a very bad epidemic that
led to the abandonment of the city built in
a humid zone with an abundance of different
insects. Even until the first decades of
this century different epidemics were
reported frequently in this area, especially
malaria; today several chemical products are
being used in order to fumigate the
environment, so the sanitation conditions
were modified. Another possibility suggests
that it had to be abandoned and closed after
the death of the sovereign who built and
used the city. Another hypothetical reason
indicates that once the Antis (name of the
"Andes" mountains comes from "Antis" =
jungle tribes living in the Amazonian Forest),
the worst enemies of the Inkas, arrived to
this spot where they carried out a huge
slaughter; the city was abandoned afterwards.
What is evident is that the Inkan City was
closed, abandoned and forgotten even until
the first years of the XXth century.
Today, in a simple way Machupicchu is
divided in two main sectors: farming and
urban. The Farming Sector is located just
after entering from the tourist hotel; over
here there are very broad artificial farming
terraces; they are only some of all the ones
existing in the region, as most of them are
covered by thick vegetation. By the eastern
end of the terraces there are five buildings
that maybe served to house the farmers who
cultivated this sector; those buildings are
known as the " Farmers' Group" though
Bingham called them "Outer Barracks". On the
upper end of those terraces there is a small
room having just 3 walls known as the "
Watchman Post" constructed in a strategic
place; from this point there is a broad view
of the Urubamba canyon in two different
directions. It is here, from where the
Machupicchu classical pictures are taken. In
the vicinity is the named "Funerary Rock" ;
it is a loose boulder placed knowingly in
that spot, carved as an altar with some
steps and a ring. It is supposed to have
served in order to carry out all the
embalming process as well as for drying the
mummies up. Nevertheless, it seems that this
rock had also a certain relationship with
solar observations. In the winter solstice,
the sunlight is projected exactly towards
this rock from "Intipunku" (Sun Gate) which
is compounded by the buildings towards the
east, on the pass, by the end of the Inka
trail that is seen surrounding the
Machupicchu Mountain. Further south from the
"Funerary Rock" is the largest building in
Machupicchu; it is a "Kallanka" that has 8
access openings on its front wall and 2 on
the side ones. Because of its location near
the trails, its dimensions and morphology,
that building must have been a sort of "
Tambo" and served as lodge for a large
number of persons. Some authors name this
building as "Headquarters" and some others
as "Workshops".
Passing from the farming sector to the urban
one there is a great " Dry Moat" that served
to protect it. Machupicchu was a very
exclusive city and its population selected
among the nobility, therefore, it had a very
effective security and protective system.
Crossing the Dry Moat is the Urban Sector;
even farther is the "Fountains Street"
containing 16 Liturgical Fountains. In the
Inkan Society the water was always
considered as a special deity, therefore,
there were normally fountains and reservoirs
for its cult. The main fountain is located
in front of a building having just three
walls that in the Inkan Architecture is
named "Wayrana" that is supposed to be a
ceremonial center from where the "Willaq Uma"
(High Priest) had to carry out diverse
ceremonies in order to worship the water.
Today, water does not flow through the
channels any more simply because the tourist
hotel is using it; originally the water was
harnessed from a spring located behind the
Machupicchu mountain; the channel came aside
and along the Inka trail going towards
Intipunku.
Nearby, is the "Sun Temple" that was a
complex originally very well protected. In
Inkan times only the priests and the Inka
could use those temples; thus, they remained
closed and protected. Common people had
popular ceremonies in open areas or plazas
like the one in Machupicchu or Qosqo. The
entrance into the Sun Temple is through a
magnificent double jamb doorway, that on its
interior surface shows its security system
with a stone ring over the lintel where the
wooden door must have been hung, and the two
stakes inside small carved boxes in the
interior jambs where the door's crossing bar
was tied. The temple itself was built over a
huge "in-situ" boulder. It has a
semicircular floor plan; its rear wall is
straight and the whole temple is built with
the "Imperial Inkan" architectonic type,
that is, with rectangular faced stones with
perfect joints. The semicircular wall has
two windows; one of them faces towards the
east and the other towards the north.
According to modern scientists those two
windows constitute the most important solar
observatory in Machupicchu; in the window
facing east it is possible to fix accurately
the winter solstice measuring the shade
projections on the central rock. Both
windows have projecting carved fake beams
surrounding their outside face; they surely
served in order to support elements that
made solar observations easier. In the
center of the temple there is an "in-situ"
carved rock altar that served to carry out
diverse ceremonies honoring the Sun; it is
over here where animal sacrifices were
executed, so that analyzing their hearts,
lungs and viscera, the priests could
foretell the future. It is also here where
the Inka had to symbolically drink "chicha"
(maize beer) along with his father the Sun.
The straight rear wall has a window with
small carved holes on its threshold that
tradition knows as the "Snake Window" (name
given by Bingham). The holes are very
similar to those found in the Temple of the
Stars in Qosqo's Qorikancha that according
to Garcilaso kept ornaments of precious
metals and stones; possibly also over here
those holes had the same duty. The straight
walls of the temple have trapezoidal niches
in their interior faces; they were used to
keep different idols and offerings. Some
authors indicate that originally this temple
had a thatched conical roof, and they name
it as "Suntur Wasi", "Military Tower", etc.
Under the "Sun Temple" there is an
interesting small cave known as the " Royal
Tomb"; it was named that by Bingham
believing that it could shelter the mummy of
a Cusquenian nobleman or possibly that of an
Inka; but he wrote that nothing was found
inside it. The relationship would be logical:
the Inka buried under his father's temple.
Without any doubt that small cave must have
been related to the Ukju Pacha (underground
world) and the cult of dead people. Inside
the small cave, on the right side wall there
are two large trapezoidal niches with
projecting fake stone beams by the height of
their lintels, and two smaller niches on the
deeper wall. On the floor, there is a
carving with a "stepping symbol"
representing the three levels of the Andean
Religious World. In the Inkan Society all
the corpses were mummified in a fetal
position with the only difference being that
mummies of noblemen were kept in temples
while those of common people were buried or
placed in cemeteries. Inside the Sun Temple
complex, there is also a two story
construction known by some authors as the "
Ñusta's Inclosure" (ñusta = princess) and as
the Priest's by some others. Because of its
location in the complex it must had a close
relationship with the Temple and possibly it
was the dwelling for the Willaq Uma (High
Priest).
Crossing the street, in front of the Sun
Temple is the " Royal Group". It is a
classical "kancha" (an apartment for an
extended family); it is the only one that is
found in the area and the only one that is
very solid and built with carved stones.
There is no doubt that it was the Inka's
dwelling. The group has two big rooms and
two small "wayranas" around a central patio.
The eastern room is known as the bedroom and
inside it, its southern portion is divided
with carved stones forming the "bed", the
Inka might have slept on that corner over
some blankets woven in vicuna wool. On the
northern end of the room there is a very
small compartment that people have baptized
as the "bathroom", which is unusual because
bathrooms are not normally found inside the
apartments. The room that stands in front is
known as the ruler's "studio"; and the two
small "wayranas" on two opposing sides were
probably used as kitchen and workshop.
Almost by the middle of the central patio
there is a carved stone that served as a
mortar in order to grind grains or some
other goods. Leaving the group through its
only entrance (today there is another way
out behind the "studio" that was opened to
help tourists walk around), in the small and
narrow passage, towards the right side and
about two meters high is a protruding carved
stone as a fake beam that has a hole in the
middle. It must have served to hold
ceremonial elements and perhaps an "aryballus"
(classic Inkan jar having a sharp-pointed
base) of "chicha" (maize beer).
Going up the stone stairs is the "Quarry" or
" Granitic Chaos" sector, where there are
amorphous granite boulders; it is suggested
that they were being exploited slowly. All
the mountains around the Inkan City have the
same quality of rocks; that is, white-gray
granite of the Vilcabamba Batholith.
Therefore, the rocks were in the place and
were not transported from the valley's
bottom as some authors pretended to state.
In this sector there is a partially broken
rock frequently pointed out by local guides;
that is not a genuine Inkan work but simply
a sample of the technique used by that age
in order to split stones, it was made in
1953. When magma was cooled off in order to
form granites, there was also a
crystallizing process by which those rocks
show always natural nerves (faults or lines)
on their surfaces; they were located by the
Quechua stonemasons who made holes along
them. Those holes were filled up with wooden
wedges that were then soaked; thus, using
expansion or swelling of soaked wood they
could split the rocks. By the start of this
book there is a chapter about the techniques
and tools used in Inkan stonemasonry.
From the quarry, it is possible to go up by
the stone stairway towards the southeast in
order to get the sector named as " Superior
Group" (some historians name this sector as
that of the "Main City Gate", or of the
"Yachaywasi" -school-). In this sector there
are many constructions with "pirka" type
walls that apparently served as public
buildings, among which there are some
"Qollqas" (storehouses). In this sector is
the Machupicchu's Main City Gate that was
the only entrance by the southeastern part
of the city. The main gate of Machupicchu
was very well protected in order to allow
the entrance of just its exclusive
population; in the interior face of that
doorway it is also possible to see its
locking system with the stone ring over the
lintel and the two stakes inside the small
carved boxes in the jambs.
Towards the quarry's west is the "Sacred
Plaza" (Holy Group), where in its western
end is the " Main Temple" (Chief Temple); it
is a "Wayrana" type Temple, that is, it has
just three walls made with stones that have
rectangular faces and perfect snug joints,
with the "Imperial Inkan" wall type. The
Main Temple shows seven trapezoidal niches
on its central wall and five on each of the
lateral ones. In front of it, about 8 meters
ahead and close to the "Three Window Temple"
is a huge boulder partially carved that must
have been its central pillar for supporting
the roof beams; today some guides call that
rock "sacrificial altar". Nowadays the Main
Temple has its central wall broken moving
towards the northeast; archaeological works
demonstrated that it is a displacement due
to rain filtering. Although, some geologists
suggest that it is due to a geological fault
passing across this spot; they indicate even
more, that there is another fault across the
Sun Temple. The deity worshipped in this
Main Temple is unknown, though, historians
argue that it could be Wiraqocha, the Andean
invisible superior god. In front of this
Temple's south side-wall there is a small
outcrop of carved stone that according to
some authors it is a representation of the
Southern Cross, which is not categorically
proved. On the northern end of the "Sacred
Plaza" is the " Temple of Three Windows", it
only has three walls and when in use it had
a two-slope roof; its stones are polygonal,
and comparatively it must have been earlier
or less important than the "Main Temple".
The evidences indicate that this temple was
originally projected for having five
windows; it seems that the two end windows
were walled up once the Temple was finished.
In the central part of what would be the
front wall is a single stone pillar that
served to support the thatched roof, and on
its western side is a carved stone with
steps representing the three levels of the
Andean World: the "Hanan-Pacha" (heaven),
the "Kay-Pacha" (earth surface) and the
"Ukju-Pacha" (underground). The existence of
this Temple made Bingham believe that he had
found the mythical "Tampu T'oqo" so this was
where the Inkan Civilization was originated;
all that is demonstrated wrong today. It was
in one of the walls of this temple that
Bingham found in 1911 the writing made with
charcoal: “Lizarraga 1902”. In front of the
"Main Temple" there is a room having two
doorways and "pirka" type rough walls that
today is named as the " Priest's House";
which is probable because of the
architectonic contrast with the surrounding
buildings, as the quality of walls is in
direct relationship to the importance of
every building. Behind the "Main Temple" is
a small room of excellent quality that is
known as " Ornaments Chamber"; because of
its location it must have kept a close
complementary relationship to the Temple.
Inside it, in the lower part of the rear
wall there is an unusual low platform like a
stone seat or couch; more over, there are
two very impressive polygonal boulders in
both sides of the entrance that have more
that 30 angles each. Some people with very
westernized or Catholic influence call this
room the " Sacristy" of the Main Temple.
From the "Holy Plaza", towards the northwest
is a stairway that rises conducting directly
to the " Intiwatana" group, which seen from
far away has the shape of an irregular
interrupted pyramid that Bingham named
"Sacred Hill". It is impressive how the
whole sector was adapted to the shape of the
natural hill. Surrounding the hill, there
are many narrow terraces that are not
necessarily farming ones but served in order
to stop erosion and protect the
"Intiwatana". Almost always those narrow
terraces were also used as gardens, that is,
with an ornamental purpose; they have no
irrigation systems as in the farming ones
(excepting the farming terraces in
Machupicchu that are in a very humid area
making aqueducts unnecessary). Thus,
according to their duty, it is possible to
identify three terrace types: farming,
protective, and ornamental. Before arriving
to the top of the hill, on the right side of
the stairway there is a ring carved on a
rock that is encrusted in the wall; it
possibly served in order to support an
insignia or flag kept by a spear; old
accounts suggest that it was something
common in platforms like this. The eastern
top of the natural formation was flattened
artificially in order to be used as an
"Usnu", that is, a special platform from
which the Machupicchu chiefs could talk to
their people who were standing up on the
Main Plaza located in the lower part towards
the northeast. The communication was
facilitated by the high location of the
platform from which there is no
interference, and by the sonority reached by
human voice that is apparently reflected and
amplified when colliding with the opposing
terraces. In the central part of that
"Sacred Hill" there are vestiges of finely
finished buildings with their classical
trapezoidal openings; around here, there is
an apparently non carved natural rock that
is suggested to be a vestige of a
Machupicchu model; curiously, the shape of
that rock has many coincidences with the
local geography. By the top of the hill is
the famous carved rock named as
"Intiwatana", its shape is irregular
(polygonal) finishing with an almost cubic
polyhedron on which the top has signs of
having been hit. Originally, all the faces
of this boulder must have been finely
polished; possibly the same way as the Main
Temple in Ollantaytambo, that is, it had a
smooth surface almost as glass. Moreover, it
must have had other auxiliary elements for
its use. The word "Intiwatana" labeling
carved stones like this was first used by
George Squier in 1877; that name is not
found in any ancient chronicle. The correct
names would be "saywa" or "sukhanka" that
were used by chroniclers. "Intiwatana" is
translated as the "place where the sun is
tied up" or simply "sun fastener". The day
of the winter solstice (June 21st) the
Quechuas had to perform the "Inti Raymi"
(Sun Festivity) that was the biggest
celebration of the Inkan Society. In this
date, the sun is located in the farthest
point from the earth or vice versa, thus the
Quechuas believed that their "Tayta Inti"
(Father Sun) was abandoning them. They had
to perform different rituals in order to ask
the sun not to move away any more and
symbolically they had to tie it up to the
"Intiwatana". However, "Intiwatana" could
also have another sense, since "Inti" is
"sun" and "Wata" is "year", it could be
translated as the "place where the solar
year is measured". It is unquestionable that
it served as an efficient solar observatory
through measurement of the projected
shadows, enabling thus fixing solstices and
equinoxes; therefore, calculating the
different seasons and the 365 day year.
Referring to this stone as a "solar clock"
or "sun dial", or other similar names, is
wrong and results from bad speculation. The
Inkas did not need to measure the day in
hours or minutes, therefore, they did not
know how to do it. Many scholars suggest
that the "Intiwatanas" also served as
directional pegs in which protrusions or
determined angles the magnetic north and
south may be found; all that is true in
Q'enqo, near Qosqo, and over here in
Machupicchu where one angle of the carved
rock and the polyhedron base indicate the
magnetic north. The astronomers White,
Dearborn and Mannheim, state that from this
complex it is possible to have observations
of the pleiades, very important for Andean
farming, and constellations like the
Southern Cross, Spica - Alpha and Beta
Centaurs, Vega, Deneb and Altair. Local
scholars indicate that Machupicchu's
Intiwatana is closely related to a regional
"ceque" system (an imaginary alignment of
observatories and temples) that includes
surrounding mountains and valleys. According
to Cusquenian archaeologists Valencia and
Gibaja, "All these elements affirm the idea
that the Machupicchu's Intiwatana sculpted
rock, is a cosmic and ritual axle of great
religious and tonic meaning, clearly
associated with some other points, that
determine important ceremonial axles in
Inkan times".
Going down by the stairway towards the
Intiwatana's northwest is the north end of
Machupicchu, where the " Sacred Rock" is
found. It is a small complex where there are
two very similar "wayranas", one in front of
the other and with "pirka" type walls. They
served as temples or altars for worshipping
the "Sacred Rock" that stands towards the
northeast, by the middle of them. The
"Sacred Rock" is a natural projection of the
mountain and stands surrounded by a stone
pedestal, its surface is relatively smooth
and was possibly also finely polished like
the Ollantaytambo boulders, but erosion of 4
or more centuries of abandonment changed the
surface polish and even its whole shape. In
the Inkan Religion it is believed that the
mountains constitute or have "apus"
(superior spirits) considered as peoples'
protectors (today mountains are still
worshipped in the Andean Religion). Many
scholars believe that the "Sacred Rock" is
simply the representation of the Yanantin
Mountain, standing behind it. In ancient
times the silhouettes of the rock and
mountain were identic, but today they are
almost similar due to the natural erosion
over the rock. However, some authors argue
that the rock must had another shape,
possibly that of a "Lying Puma" or a "Guinea
Pig". Towards the north of this complex is
the trail leading to the Waynapicchu
Mountain and towards the Southeast is the
city's Main Plaza.
The " Main Plaza" is the biggest open and
flat space existing in Machupicchu, it is
towards the northeast and by the feet of the
"Intiwatana". It was the place where the
population's popular ceremonies were carried
out; perhaps also the "Inti Raymi" or Sun
Festivity like as in Qosqo's Main Square.
Nearby this plaza there are terraces that
did not have a farming duty but served
simply to flatten the terrain; in the
totally irregular Machupicchu's topography,
that was the only way to achieve flat
spaces.
In Machupicchu's eastern area, toward the
northeast of the Main Plaza there are many
other buildings with "pirka" type walls
(with rough mud-bonded stones); the
buildings layout in this area is somewhat
complex, and includes sectors that are
differently named, such as " Higher Group",
" Three Doorway Unit", etc. Those are
basically buildings that served as
apartments, storehouses, and some other
utilitarian duties. Towards the east of this
complex are interesting buildings with
different altars, semi-underground
buildings, sculpted stones with diverse
shapes, etc., about which there are not deep
interpretative studies yet. By this zone
there is also an interesting cave containing
a partially carved window named Intimachay
that was studied by Dearborn who argues that
from inside the cave it is possible to see
just 2° of horizon through the window that
is aligned with the sunrise in the summer
solstice (December 21st). The 2° margin
enabled the solstice observation during 10
days before and after the event, a lapse
that was necessary in the case of a cloudy
and rainy zone like Machupicchu.
Even farther to the southeast of the
previous sector is the named " Mortars
Group", to which some authors name the "
Industrial Sector". The architectonic
quality of its walls indicate that it had a
serious importance in the city; Bingham
named it as "Ingenuity Group". This was
apparently a very exclusive group because it
has a double jamb doorway and inside, it
still has the door locking system with two
small carved boxes and their stone stakes.
From the floor to about two meters high, the
walls were made with sculpted stones, but
the superior part was made with rougher
ones; that difference suggests perhaps a
construction in two different stages. Inside
that group there is a room having two
circular "mortars", both having almost the
same diameter and carved on a granite
outcrop in the floor. Some historians
suggest that those were mortars used in
order to grind diverse elements for making
weavings or pottery in the sector that was
"industrial"; though, the mortars do not
appear to have had much use. Others indicate
that those were seats for "aryballus"
(pointed base jars) containing "chicha"
(maize beer). Likewise it is suggested that
they were filled up with water in order to
serve as "mirrors" for astral observations
during clear nights, alleging that this
enclosure was not roofed; but according to
many modern astronomers that is a weak
possibility because it is more practical to
observe the sky directly and not using
mirrors. Towards the south of the previous
room there is a very interesting building
compound of two identical "wayranas" or
rooms having just three walls that share one
central dividing wall; instead of their
front wall they present a column that
supported the roof beams. In this complex
there are also some other rooms having the
same quality, sculpted rocks looking like
altars, etc.
One of the most fascinating and enigmatic
sectors in Machupicchu is that of the
"Condor" located toward the southeast of the
"mortars". The "Temple of the Condor" form
something like a labyrinth where in its
lower and central portion there is a
sculpture on a granite outcrop with the
shape of an Andean Condor having a beak, the
classic white collar around its neck and its
whole body. Behind, there are two huge rocks
surrounding it; they represent its wings,
giving the impression of being a landing
condor. It is obvious that this was a sacred
spot built on purpose in order to worship
the "Apu Kuntur" (Condor God) that was one
of the three sacred animals of the Inkan
Society along with the Puma (cougar or
mountain lion) and the Snake; therefore its
duty was strictly religious. The Andean
Condor was and still is a special divinity
on the Andes highlands, but the ceremonies
carried out to worship it in ancient times
are unknown. However, today the Andean
people of some concealed villages in the
highlands of Peru annually carry out their
festivity called "Yawar Fiesta" or "Blood
Festivity" (see chapter of Andean Condor) in
which a living Condor is worshipped in a
very special way. On the other hand, some
other authors suggest that over here was
Machupicchu's "Jail". It is argued that in
this place there were pumas and perhaps also
snakes, so those who were punished were left
inside and had to die inexorably; after
those persons died, over here landed Condors
and some other birds of prey to devour the
remains of the punished fellows. It is
argued that over here existed two types of
punishment and that the niches with small
holes on their jambs that are found over the
Condor's left wing served for tying the
hands of those punished (those niches were
originally covered with a roof). Moreover,
it is argued that the other higher niches in
the rear wall that have a small back opening
served for another different punishment: the
"walling in" of punished fellows, who were
inserted and walled up inside the niches
with their faces towards the upper openings
that served them in order to breath and
consume food. In Inkan times this sector was
complementary to the "Temple of the Condor";
and because of its location and its multiple
characteristics this complex must have
carried out a highly ritual duty and not
that of a "jail".
Hiram Bingham and his teams worked
intensively in Machupicchu and the whole
archaeological park during 5 years, digging
practically every square meter. In its
surroundings they found ancient tombs,
mummies and remains of 174 persons always
enclosed along with their daily life
belongings; including clothing, pottery,
food, ornaments, etc. After all his works
Bingham informed that no artifact of
precious metal was found in Machupicchu;
that which today is refuted by the Agustin
Lizarraga's widow and descendants who assert
that the intrepid young peasant established
in the area before Bingham's arrival,
discovered Machupicchu during his
explorations looking for farming lands by
the year 1900. They say that Lizarraga
arrived to this lost city using the trail
that leads from the San Miguel zone to the
"Holy Plaza" and that in his successive
visits found in some niches objects of
ceramic, stone, gold and silver. Objects
that he sold to a well known rich merchant
in Qosqo. That could be true because of the
"crude charcoal autographs" found by Bingham
on the beautiful granite walls including the
writing "A. Lizarraga 1902" in one of the
walls of the "Temple of Three Windows"; and
as the same North-American explorer when
describing a grave wrote: "We know that
Lizarraga had been treasure hunting on these
forest-clad slopes at least ten years before
our visit...". Once that Lizarraga died "in
very strange circumstances" in 1912, he left
for his widow some treasures that she
donated to the Santa Clara convent in Qosqo,
after being in Catholic confession persuaded
by the priest so that with her donation she
could get "peace and salvation for her
soul". It is possible that no peasant other
than Lizarraga could have had profaned the
site because in the traditional Andean
Society there is always a profound ancestral
respect and reverence towards ancient
"Wakas". There is much more respect for the
ancestors' tombs that can not be profaned
believing that they are protected and
profaning them brings misfortune, diseases,
death and some other maledictions.
Bingham wrote that every object he got when
working in Machupicchu was deposited in Yale
University. But today (1998) a visit to
observe the Machupicchu's artifacts in
Yale's "Peabody Museum of Natural History"
located in New Haven, Connecticut, is more
than disappointing (Click here to go to the
museum website). The exhibit consists of 10
pieces of Inka pottery, 10 of metallurgy, 10
of stonework, 3 wooden cups, very few
textiles, and one of the nicest Inkan
"qhipu" existing in the world (most of the
pieces are from Machupicchu, not all of them
but the exhibit does not tell which ones;
even more, not even a single picture of
Machupicchu!). Besides, there are small
niches displaying mainly pottery of
pre-Inkan Civilizations. Peruvians hope that
someday, the artifacts listed by Bingham in
his various publications will be returned to
Machupicchu where they belong.
The Waynapicchu Mountain is that found
towards the north of the city and which
appears in the background of Machupicchu's
classical pictures. By its summit there are
some retaining terraces that were made for
avoiding erosion as well as for serving as
gardens. It is possible to get to the summit
using the path that is located by the left
flank of the mountain. The way up was
basically a long stairway; in various
sectors its steps were simply carved on the
mountain rock. Climbing up slowly takes one
hour approximately, and it is not dangerous;
however, the person that tries it must keep
his eyes open since the path is by the edge
of precipices and some carelessness or a
wrong step could be fatal, and whoever
attempts it must not suffer from vertigo.
From the summit, there is a spectacular
panoramic view of the Inkan City, of the
Urubamba canyon and the mountains around; it
seems that over here existed a very
important Quechua sanctuary.
From Machupicchu it is also possible to take
some other short walks. One of them is
towards the " Inkan Bridge" for which, it is
necessary to reach the small "Watchman Post"
located on the upper area of the farming
sector; from that spot there is a trail
towards the southwest. After about 20
minutes of walking one gets to the
present-day end of the path, from where
there is a view of the trail carved on the
mountain-face as well as of the bases of a
draw bridge. It is supposed that the draw
bridge structure was of light wood that was
removed or saved in order to avoid
trespassing of non authorized persons; thus
they enabled the protection of Machupicchu.
Somewhat lower than the same "Watchman Post"
is the Inka Trail that originally joined
Machupicchu with Qosqo; that trail is a good
sample of the Quechua engineering and
construction technology, it still keeps its
original pavement of flagstones and it is
very wide. When following it, after about
1.5 miles is the pass named Intipunku (Sun
Gate), and even farther, about 7 Kms. (4.4
miles) away from Machupicchu is the small
Inkan town of Wiñaywayna. Around there, in a
higher level is the farming complex of
Intipata. |
