Machu Picchu
The site is roughly divided into an urban sector and an agricultural sector, and into an upper town and a lower town. The temples are in the upper town, the warehouses in the lower.
The architecture is adapted to the mountains. Approximately 200 buildings are arranged on wide parallel terraces around an east-west central square. The various compounds, called kanchas, are long and narrow in order to exploit the terrain. Sophisticated channeling systems provided irrigation for the fields. Stone stairways set in the walls allowed access to the different levels across the site. The eastern section of the city was probably residential. The western, separated by the square, was for religious and ceremonial purposes. This section contains the Torreón, the massive tower which may have been used as an observatory.
Located in the first zone are the primary archaeological treasures: the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows. These were dedicated to Inti, their sun god and greatest deity.
The Popular District, or Residential District, is the place where the lower-class people lived. It includes storage buildings and simple houses.
The royalty area, a sector for the nobility, is a group of houses located in rows over a slope; the residence of the amautas (wise persons) was characterized by its reddish walls, and the zone of the ñustas (princesses) had trapezoid-shaped rooms. The Monumental Mausoleum is a carved statue with a vaulted interior and carved drawings. It was used for rites or sacrifices.
The Guardhouse is a three-sided building, with one of its long sides opening onto the Terrace of the Ceremonial Rock. The three-sided style of Inca architecture is known as the wayrona style.
In 2005 and 2009, the University of Arkansas made detailed laser scans of the entire site and of the ruins at the top of the adjacent Huayna Picchu mountain. The scan data is available online for research purposes.
| Location | Cuzco Region, Peru |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 13°09′48″S 72°32′44″WCoordinates: 13°09′48″S 72°32′44″W |
| Height | 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 1450 |
| Abandoned | 1572 |
| Cultures | Inca civilization |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Hiram Bingham |
| Official name | Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu |
| Type | Mixed |
| Criteria | i, iii, vii, ix |
| Designated | 1983 (7th session) |
| Reference no. | 274 |
| State Party |  Peru |
| Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
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