The Architecture of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is located at 2,350 m.a.s.l., high above the Urubamba River, on the saddle that joins two mountains: Machu Picchu (or oldest peak in Quechua) and Huayna Picchu (youngest peak). The ruins are split into two major areas: the agricultural zone and the urban zone.

The agricultural zone is made up of terracing for agricultural purposes, that is, by large and small platforms located in the mountain slopes. The urban zone is made of two big architectonic sets, which develop following an East-West orientation, and feature temples, squares, royal tombs, and staircases (which total some 3 thousand steps), all of which have been carved to an extraordinary degree of perfection. Over the citadel looms the Huayna Picchu mountain, which can be climbed up a steep stone-paved trail.

Buildings in Machu Picchu are basically one-story, rectangular constructions, with trapezoidal doors and windows, typically Inca-style. Indeed, the whole citadel uses the Inca architectural classic style: construction with polished walls of regular shape, with junctions so perfect that not even a knife fits in between.

It is important to notice that the Incas, although they did know about the round shape (the Inti god was represented in that manner), they never applied such a shape. The mobilization of the enormous blocks of stones is a mystery. Nevertheless, it can be noted that although they never used the rounded shape they did utilized the incline plane. It is believe that they made use of thousands of men to push the stones up the incline. Sadly, the Incas did not leave any writings about that affect because the knowledge of writing was not known.

Until now it has not been possible to imagine how the engineering of the Inca civilization could move stone blocks of up to twenty tons to the top of Machu Picchu.

Architectonic Features
The original builders of Machu Picchu worked hard to obtain an architectural balance in a special and difficult place. They even used materials found nearby to adapt the buildings to several levels. There are two large sections: the agricultural sector on the south and the urban sector on the north. Both have been constructed on top of a natural division, taking advantage of the existence of a dry pit, the result of a geologic fault.

Agricultural Sector
The Inca Trail leads to the south section and divides it in two before arriving at the main entrance of the citadel. On one side of the mountain there are irrigation terraces of different types and sizes stretching horizontally along the mountain. Those on the upper zones of the entrance road were for agricultural purposes because they had flying stairs and were wider, compared to the lower terraces that prevented erosions caused by rain. There is only one water channel that goes to the section; apparently some straw-roofed rooms found there were used as storehouses (collpas).

Watch tower: This tower can be found before the main gate and consists of a building with three walls and windows. From this place, one can see the urban and agricultural sectors as well as the surroundings, an ideal spot for picture taking.

Upper cemetery and ritual rock: Archaeologists have found burials containing human remains around the area. They also found stones drilled from the upper part possibly used for ceremonial offerings. There is a granite ritual rock, carved with steps.

Urban Sector
This is a whole "U"-shaped citadel. It has two series of buildings next to each side of the square or Chaupipata, which lies on a north-south axis. In the urban sector there are lots of temples, groups of rooms and workshops. The most remarkable buildings are described as follows.

Temple of the Sun: Formed by a series of buildings dominating the whole citadel, the temple has a semicircular shape and is located on top of a solid rock with a natural curve 34.4-ft.(10.5 m.) long. Blocks of finely worked stone have been used for this wall. In this building there are two trapezoidal windows with bulges on the corners. Towards the north wing, there is a door with perforated jambs. To the west of the temple, there is a rectangular patio with 9 vaulted niches intercalated by stone nails.

The Intihuatana: There are 78 steps to climb to the open-air patio of the carved walls. On the terrace you will see three carved steps in granite rock. In the central area, there is a kind of monolith sculpted and polished on several sides, ending in a quadrangular prism 14 inches (0.36 m) tall and pointing towards the northwest and southeast. Vertices are facing the four cardinal points. It seems that the Intihuatana was used as a solar clock and ritual altar.

Group of the Sacred Rock: Found in a square area next to two rooms, the scared rock is 9.8 ft. (3.0 m.) long, has a base of 23 ft. (7.0 m.) and a pedestal of 11.8 inches (0.30 m.). The shape is one of a feline. It was used in rituals.

Temple of the Three Windows: The temple is located at the western side of the main square and has a rectangular shape. The name comes from the typical trapezoidal windows.

Main temple: Located north of the Sacred Square, near the Temple of the Three Windows. It is 36 ft. (11.0 m.)long and 26.2 ft. (8.0 m.) wide.

The Street of the Fountains: This street is located towards the south, between the Temple of the Sun and the Royal Palace. There are water springs known in the region as "Paqchas". This group of fountains or ponds contains water from a spring located 0.6 mile (1 km.) away and keeps the water flowing through different levels.

Mausoleum: Enormous stone block bearing part of the Temple of the Sun. In this place, the Incas worshipped and gave ceremonial offerings to the mummies of the main officers.

This text includes excerpts from Wikipedia and PromPeru.

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