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In 1911, American historian Hiram Bingham publicized the finding of what at that time was considered a "lost city" of the Inca. Though local inhabitants got known about it for century, Bingham recorded and photographed the ruins of an 15th century arrangement nestled along a hill ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, positioned so perfectly from a protective standpoint that it is presumed the Spanish never conquered it and may have never known about it. Today, of course, Machu Picchu is one of South America's best visitor places, and the ruins have even been voted one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. But even though Machu Picchu is currently the most widely known of all Incan ruins, its function in Incan civilization continues to be not clear. Some have speculated that it was an outpost or a frontier citadel, while some believe it to be always a sanctuary or a work middle for women. Still others suggest that it was a ceremonial middle or simply even the previous refuge of the Incas after the Spanish conquest. One of the most theories to have hold is the fact that Machu Picchu was the summertime dwelling of the Inca's royal judge, the Inca's version of Versailles. As was the circumstance with the renaming of Mayan and Aztec ruins, the brands given to various structures by archaeologists are strictly imaginary and therefore not so helpful; for example, the mausoleum, palace or watchtower at Machu Picchu might have been nothing of the type. What's clear at Machu Picchu would be that the metropolitan plan and the building techniques utilized followed those at other Incan settlements, particularly the capital of Cuzco. The positioning of plazas and the brilliant use of the irregularities of the land, combined with the highly developed cosmetic involved in masonry work, followed the style of the Inca capital. At Machu Picchu, the typical Incan strategy of meticulously assembling ashlar masonry and creating surfaces of blocks with out a binding material is astounding. The blocks are sometimes evenly squared and sometimes are of varying shape. Within the latter case, the tight connection between the blocks of rock seems quite impressive. Even more astounding than the complete stone cutting of the Incas is the method that they used for the transport and motion on site of the enormous blocks. The Incas did not have the steering wheel, so all the work was accomplished using rollers and levers. Machu Picchu: The History and Enigma of the Incan City comprehensively covers the annals of the city, as well as the speculation encircling the goal of Machu Picchu and the issue over the structures.

Category: Classics

Details

Publisher	Charles River Editors
Language	English
ISBN
DATE	2015-04
Author	Jesse Harasta

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