Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Huayna Picchu 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 Picchu, "Old mountain") is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level^[1]. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Huayna Picchu or Wayna Picchu ( Quechua "Young Peak" is a Mountain in Peru around which the Urubamba River bends As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Quechua ( Runa Simi) is a Native American language of South America. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. The Urubamba Valley is located in Peru below the sacred city of Machu Picchu. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. ||} Cusco (also spelled Cuzco, and in the local Quechua language as Qusqu 'qos Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. It was built around the year 1450, but abandoned a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of forty (40 Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca Forgotten for centuries, the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham III, ( November 19, 1875 June 6, 1956) was an American academic explorer and politician Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. It has recently come to light that the site may have been discovered and raided several years previously, in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns. ^[2] It was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. New Seven Wonders of the World is a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September of 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early 20th century. Currently, there are concerns about the impact of tourism on the site as it reached 400,000 visitors in 2003.

History

View of the city of Machu Picchu in 1911.

Machu Picchu was constructed around 1460, at the height of the Inca Empire. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. It was abandoned less than 100 years later. It is likely that most of its inhabitants were wiped out by smallpox before the Spanish conquistadores arrived. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador Hiram Bingham, the credited discoverer of the site, along with several others, originally hypothesized that the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca people or the spiritual center of the "Virgins of the Suns" (Bingham, Inca Land:Explorations in the Highlands of Peru, p. Hiram Bingham may refer to Hiram Bingham III, US Senator from Connecticut and explorer best known for uncovering Machu Picchu Hiram Bingham 334).

Another theory maintains that Machu Picchu was Inca "llacta": a settlement built to control the economy of the conquered regions. It may also have been built as a prison for a select few who had committed heinous crimes against Inca society. Research conducted by scholars, such as John Rowe and Richard Burger, has convinced most archaeologists that rather than a defensive retreat, Machu Picchu was an estate of the Inca emperor, Pachacuti. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (or Pachacutec) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1438-1471/1472 of the Kingdom of Cusco, which he transformed into the empire In addition, Johan Reinhard presented evidence that the site was selected based on its position relative to sacred landscape features. One such example is its mountains, which are purported to be in alignment with key astronomical events.

Although the citadel is located only about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Cusco, the Inca capital, it was never found and consequently not plundered and destroyed by the Spanish, as was the case with many other Inca sites. A citadel is a fortress for protecting a Town, sometimes incorporating a Castle. ||} Cusco (also spelled Cuzco, and in the local Quechua language as Qusqu 'qos Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew over the site, and few knew of its existence. On July 24, 1911, Machu Picchu was brought to the attention of scholars by Hiram Bingham, an American historian then employed as a lecturer at Yale University. Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham III, ( November 19, 1875 June 6, 1956) was an American academic explorer and politician He was led there by locals who frequented the site. Bingham undertook archaeological studies and completed a survey of the area. Bingham coined the name "The Lost City of the Incas", which was the title of his first book. He never gave any credit to those who led him to Machu Picchu, mentioning only "local rumor" as his guide.

View of residential section of Machu Picchu in 2007.

Bingham had been searching for the city of Vitcos, the last Inca refuge and spot of resistance during the Spanish conquest of Peru. Vitcos is a ruined palace in Peru, believed to have been built by ruler in exile Manco Inca during the Spanish conquest of Peru The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of forty (40 Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca In 1911, after years of previous trips and explorations around the zone, he was led to the citadel by Quechuans. Quechua ( Runa Simi) is a Native American language of South America. These people were living in Machu Picchu, in the original Inca infrastructure. Even though most of the original inhabitants had died within a century of the city's construction, a small number of families survived so by the time the site was 'discovered' in 1911, there were still mummies (mostly women) in Machu Picchu and some families still living on the site. Bingham made several more trips and conducted excavations on the site through 1915. He wrote a number of books and articles about the discovery of Machu Picchu in his lifetime.

Simone Waisbard, a long-time researcher of Cusco, claims that Enrique Palma, Gabino Sánchez, and Agustín Lizárraga left their names engraved on one of the rocks at Machu Picchu on July 14, 1901. Simone Waisbard was a French explorer who spent years in South and Central America, studying remnants of the many ancient civilizations and tribes that Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting This would mean that they 'discovered' it long before Bingham did in 1911. Likewise, in 1904, an engineer named Franklin supposedly spotted the ruins from a distant mountain. He told Thomas Paine, an English Plymouth Brethren Christian missionary living in the region, about the site, Paine's family members claim. The Plymouth Brethren is a Conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland In 1906, Paine and another fellow missionary named Stuart E McNairn (1867–1956) supposedly climbed up to the ruins.

In 1913, the site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April issue to Machu Picchu. Overview The NGS's historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural historical and natural In 1981 an area of 325. 92 square kilometers surrounding Machu Picchu was declared a "Historical Sanctuary" of Peru. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand In addition to the ruins, this area includes a large portion of the regional landscape, rich with flora and fauna.

Llama and tourists at the guard house.

Machu Picchu 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". A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[3] On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. New Seven Wonders of the World is a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders As a result of environmental degradation resulting from the impacts of tourism, uncontrolled development in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes (including a poorly-sited tram to ease visitor access), and the construction of a bridge across the Vilcanota River in defiance of a court order and government protests (which would most likely bring even more tourists to the site), the World Monuments Fund placed Machu Picchu on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world. The World Monuments Fund (WMF is a New York -based private Non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic Architecture and

Location

Location of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is 70 kilometers northwest of Cusco, on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu, located about 2,350 meters (7,710 ft) above sea level. ||} Cusco (also spelled Cuzco, and in the local Quechua language as Qusqu 'qos It is one of the most important archaeological centers in South America and the most visited tourist attraction in Peru. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a

From the top, at the cliff of Machu Picchu, there is a vertical rock face of 600 meters ending at the foot of the Urubamba River. The Urubamba River ( Rio Urumamba) is a river in Peru. A partially navigable headwater of the Amazon River, it rises in the Andes to the south-east The location of the city was a military secret because its deep precipices and mountains were an excellent natural defense. The Inca Bridge, an Inca rope bridge across the Urubamba River in the Pongo de Mainique, provided a secret entrance for the Inca army. The Inca Bridge or Inka Bridge seems to be the name or nickname of two places related to accesses of Machu Picchu, in Peru. Inca rope bridges were Simple suspension bridges over canyons and gorges ( pongos ' to provide access for the Inca Empire. The Pongo de Mainique is a pongo (canyon in Peru, being 45 metres wide and 3 kilometres long with 900 m to 300 m high cliffs The Incan army was the best organized of its time in the 15th and 16th centuries Another Inca bridge to the west of Machu Picchu, the trunk bridge, has a section across a cliff face with a 6 metres (20 ft) gap in it which could be bridged by two tree trunks. If the trees were removed, it would leave a 570 metres (1,900 ft) fall to the base of the cliffs to discourage invaders. It is above Urubamba Valley.

The city sits in a saddle between two mountains, with a commanding view down two valleys and a nearly impassable mountain at its back. It has a water supply from springs that cannot easily be blocked, and enough land to grow food for about four times as many people as actually lived there. The hillsides leading to it have been terraced, not only to provide more farmland to grow crops, but to steepen the slopes which invaders would have to ascend. There are two high-altitude routes from Machu Picchu across the mountains back to Cuzco, one through the sun gate, and the other across the Inca bridge. Both could easily be blocked if invaders should approach along them. Regardless of its ultimate purpose, it is in a highly defendable position.

View with Google maps

Architecture

Main article: Incan architecture

Inca wall at Machu Picchu

Most of the construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Ashlar is dressed stone work of any type of stone Ashlar blocks are large rectangular blocks of Masonry sculpted to have square edges and even faces Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between The Incas were among the best stone masons the world has seen, and many junctions in the central city are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones.

Other Inca buildings have been built using mortar, but by Inca standards that was quick, shoddy construction. Peru is a highly seismic land, and mortar-free construction was more earthquake-resistant than using mortar. Seismology (from Greek grc σεισμός seismos, "earthquake" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Earthquakes An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer Inca walls show numerous subtle design details that would prevent them from collapsing in an earthquake. Doors and windows are trapezoidal and tilt inward from bottom to top, corners are usually rounded, inside corners often incline slightly into the rooms, and "L" shaped blocks are often used to tie outside corners together. Walls do not rise straight from top to bottom but are offset slightly from row to row. As a result, Machu Picchu is a city that has stood up well to earthquakes over the years.

The Incas never used the wheel in any practical manner. How they moved and placed enormous blocks of stones is a mystery, although the general belief is that they used hundreds of men to push the stones up inclined planes. A few of the stones still have knobs on them that could have been used to lever them into position. After they were placed, the Incas would have sanded the knobs away.

The space is composed of 140 constructions including temples, sanctuaries, parks and residences (houses with thatched roofs). Sanctuary has multiple meanings A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar A park is a protected area of Land and Water, usually in its natural or semi-natural (landscaped state and set aside for some purpose often to do with human There are more than one hundred flights of stone steps – often completely carved from a single block of granite – and a great number of water fountains, interconnected by channels and water-drainages perforated in the rock, designed for the original irrigation system. Evidence has been found to suggest that the irrigation system was used to carry water from a holy spring to each of the houses in turn.

According to archaeologists, the urban sector of Machu Picchu was divided into three great districts: the Sacred District, the Popular District, to the south, and the District of the Priests and the Nobility.

Temple of the Sun

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. According to the Inca mythology, Inti was the Sun god, as well a patron deity of Tahuantinsuyu. The Popular District, or Residential District, is the place where the lower class people lived. It includes storage buildings and simple houses to live in.

In the royalty area, a sector existed for the nobility: 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. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Inca education during the time of the Inca Empire was divided into two principal spheres education for the upper classes and education for the general population The Monumental Mausoleum is a carved statue with a vaulted interior and carved drawings. It was used for rites or sacrifices.

As part of their road system, the Inca built a road to Machu Picchu. Among the many roads and trails constructed in pre-Columbian South America, the Inca road system, or Qhapaq Ñan was the most extensive Today, tens of thousands of tourists walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, acclimatising at Cusco before starting on a two- to four-day journey on foot from the Urubamba valley up through the Andes mountain range. Among the many roads and trails constructed in pre-Columbian South America, the Inca road system, or Qhapaq Ñan was the most extensive

Intihuatana Stone

The Intihuatana ("sun-tier") is believed to have been designed as an astronomic clock by the Incas

Shamanic legends say that if you're a sensitive person and you rub your forehead against the stone you will see the spirit world. The Intihuatana stone is one of the many ritual stones in South America. They are arranged so they point directly at the sun during the winter solstice. The Spanish did not find Machu Picchu until the 20th century so the Intihuatana Stone was not destroyed like many other ritual stones. It is also called "The Hitching Point of the Sun" because it was supposed to hold the sun in its place. At midday on March 21st and September 21st the sun stands almost above the pillar creating no shadow at all. ^[4] It is (as they said before) believed to be an astronomic clock built by the Incas. ^[5] The Intihuatana Stone was damaged in September 2000 when a 450 kg (1,000-pound) crane fell onto it, breaking off a piece of stone the size of a ballpoint pen. The crane was being used by a crew hired by J. Walter Thompson advertising agency to film an advertisement for the Cristal beer brand. JWT is the current name of the United States largest and world's fourth largest Advertising agency. "Machu Picchu is the heart of our archaeological heritage and the Intihuatana is the heart of Machu Picchu. They've struck at our most sacred inheritance," said Federico Kaufmann Doig, a Peruvian archaeologist. ^[6] In the 1980s, a large rock from Machu Picchu's central plaza was moved to a different location in order to create a helicopter landing zone. However, since the 1990s, helicopter flights were no longer possible until february, 2008 when helicopter flights are possible with Helicusco with all the legal permissions.

Concerns over tourism

View of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu, showing the Hiram Bingham Highway used by buses carrying tourists to and from the town of Aguas Calientes. Huayna Picchu or Wayna Picchu ( Quechua "Young Peak" is a Mountain in Peru around which the Urubamba River bends Aguas Calientes is the colloquial name for Machupicchu Pueblo, a town in Peru on the Urubamba (Vilcanota River.

Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage site. As Peru’s most visited tourist attraction and major revenue generator, it is continually threatened by economic and commercial forces. In the late 1990s, the Peruvian government granted concessions to allow the construction of a cable car to the ruins and development of a luxury hotel, including a tourist complex with boutiques and restaurants. These plans were met with protests from scientists, academics and the Peruvian public, worried that the greater numbers of visitors would pose tremendous physical burdens on the ruins.

A growing number of people visit Machu Picchu (400,000 in 2003^[7]). For this reason, there were protests against a plan to build a further bridge to the site^[8] and a no-fly zone exists in the area. A no-fly zone is a territory over which Aircraft are not permitted to fly ^[9] UNESCO is considering putting Machu Picchu on its list of endangered World Heritage Sites. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 These are thirty sites which the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to include on a list of World Heritage Sites in danger; this list also shows the year ^[8]

Controversy with Yale University

View looking down onto Machu Picchu from the trail to the Sun Temple

During his early years in Peru, Bingham built strong relationships with top Peruvian officials. As a result, he had little trouble obtaining necessary permission, paperwork, and permits to travel throughout the country and borrow archeological artifacts. Upon returning to Yale University, Bingham had collected around 5,000 such objects to be kept in Yale's care until such time as the Peruvian government requested their return. ^[10]

On March 14, 2006, the controversy was reignited in part by the Hartford Courant reporting that the wife of former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo had accused Yale University of profiting from Peru's cultural heritage by claiming title to more than 250 museum-quality pieces that had been removed from Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham in 1912 and had been on display at Yale's Peabody Museum ever since. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Hartford Courant is the largest daily Newspaper in the US Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (born 28 March 1946 is a Peruvian Politician and Economist. Some of the material Bingham removed was returned to Peru but Yale kept the rest saying its position was supported by federal case law involving Peruvian antiquities. ^[11]

On August 14, 2007, the Hartford Courant reported that Yale had agreed to turn over to Peru an inventory of some 300 museum-quality pieces in its collection. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The breakthrough was followed by Peru's new president, Alan Garcia, appointing a delegation to continue talks with Yale and potentially settle the dispute without pursuing the lawsuit threatened by his predecessor, Alejandro Toledo. Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (born May 23 1949 in Lima) is the current President of Peru, having won the 2006 elections on June 4 2006 in a run-off Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (born 28 March 1946 is a Peruvian Politician and Economist. ^[12]

On September 19, 2007, the Hartford Courant reported that Peru and Yale University had reached an agreement regarding return of artifacts removed from Machu Picchu in the early 20th century by Hiram Bingham. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The agreement includes sponsorship of a joint traveling exhibition and construction of a new museum and research center in Cusco on which Yale will advise Peru. Yale acknowledges Peru's title to all the excavated objects from Machu Picchu but Yale will share rights with Peru in the research collection, part of which will remain at Yale as an object of continuing study. ^[13]

Panoramic Photo of Machu Picchu III.

Hi-Res Panoramic Photo of Machu Picchu. ^[14]

Virtual Tour of Machu Picchu

The Peru department of tourism PROMPERU has sponsored the world's first full screen 360 x 360 virtual tour of the entire citadel. Virtual Tour of Machu Picchu

See also

• Choquequirao
• Kuelap
• Pachacutec

Notes

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.
• MacQuarrie, Kim. The Last Days of the Incas. Simon & Schuster, 2007. ISBN 978-0743260497.
• 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

• Virtual Tour of Machu Picchu Peru
• Machu Pichu, General Information, History, Map, Photo Gallery, etc.
• Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (World Heritage)
• Machu Picchu on National Geographic
• Machu Picchu travel guide from Wikitravel
• Machu Picchu information portal (Contains detailed articles about the ruins and the Incas)
• Google Satellite shot of entire site
• A pictorial guide to Machu Picchu
• Machu Picchu. Map Peru interactive
• The World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch listing for Machu Picchu
• Machu Picchu in YouTube
• http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1210171