Editing Machu Picchu (section)

==Site==
[[File:Karta MachuPicchu.PNG|thumb|Map of Machu Picchu|upright=1.2]]

===Layout===
[[File:Room of the Three Windows - Machu Picchu.jpg|thumb|''Temple of the Three Windows''|upright=1.2]]
The site is roughly divided into an urban sector and an agricultural sector, with the former divided between an upper town and a lower town. The temples are in the upper town, the warehouses in the lower.<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Bordewich | first = Fergus | author-link = Fergus Bordewich | title = Winter Palace | journal = [[Smithsonian Magazine]]  | date = March 2003 | page = 110 | url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/winter-palace-77490707/ | access-date = 2024-08-12 }}</ref>

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 ''[[Inca kancha|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]].{{sfn|Longhena|Alva|2007|p=252}}

Located in the urban sector are the primary archaeological treasures and tourist attractions: the ''[[Intihuatana, Urubamba|Intihuatana]]'', the ''Temple of the Sun'' and the ''Temple of the Three Windows''.{{sfn|Millones|2020a|p=67}}

The Popular District, or Residential District, is the place where the lower-class people lived. It includes storage buildings and simple houses.{{sfn|Astete|Bastante|2020b|p=226}}

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 people) 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.{{sfn|Wright| Valencia Zegarra|2004|p= 8}}

In 2005 and 2009, the [[University of Arkansas]] made detailed [[3d laser scanning|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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Computer Modeling of Heritage Resources | url = http://cast.uark.edu/home/education/field-programs/geomatics-for-archaeology-field-school.html | website = Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies | publisher = University of Arkansas | access-date = 2024-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415000022/http://cast.uark.edu/home/education/field-programs/geomatics-for-archaeology-field-school.html |archive-date=2010-04-15 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Sites of interest===
====Temple of the Sun or Torreón====
[[File: Machupicchu intihuatana.JPG|thumb|Temple of the Sun or Torreon|upright=1.2]]This semicircular temple is built on the same rock overlying Bingham's "Royal Mausoleum", and is similar to the [[Coricancha#Inca Astronomy|Temple of the Sun]] found in Cusco and the one found in [[Pisac]], in having what Bingham described as a "[[Parabola|parabolic]] enclosure wall". The stonework is of [[ashlar]] quality. Within the temple is a 1.2 m by 2.7 m rock platform, smooth on top except for a small platform on its southwest quadrant. A "Serpent's Door" faces 340°, or just west of north, opening onto a series of 16 pools, and affording a view of Huayna Picchu. The temple also has two [[trapezoidal]] windows, one facing 65°, called the "Solstice Window", and the other facing 132°, called the "[[Qullqa]] Window". The northwest edge of the rock platform points out the Solstice Window to within 2' of the 15th century [[June solstice]] rising Sun. For comparison, the [[angular diameter]] of the Sun is 32'. The [[Constellation#Dark cloud constellations|Inca constellation]] Qullca, storehouse, can be viewed out the Qullqa Window at sunset during the 15th-century June Solstice, hence the window's name. At the same time, the [[Pleaides]] are at the opposite end of the sky. Also seen through this window on this night are the constellations Llamacnawin, Llama, Unallamacha, Machacuay, and the star Pachapacariq Chaska ([[Canopus]]).<ref name="torreon"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Krupp |first1=Edwin |author-link=Ed Krupp|title=Echoes of the Ancient Skies |date=1994 |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc. |location=Mineola |isbn=978-0-486-42882-6 |pages=47–51}}</ref>[[File: 143 Intiwatana Machu Picchu Peru 2406 (14977268637).jpg|thumb|right|''Intihuatana'' is believed to have been designed as an astronomic clock or calendar by the Incas|upright=1.2]]

====Intihuatana stone====
{{main|Intihuatana, Urubamba}}
[[File:90 - Machu Picchu - Juin 2009 (cropped).jpg|thumb|The sculpture projecting from the rock bottom of the Sun temple is interpreted as "Water mirrors for observing the sky".{{sfn|Doig|2005}}|upright=1.2]]

The ''Intihuatana'' stone is a [[ritual]] stone which was used by the Incas. The stone is designed to point directly at the Sun during the winter [[solstice]].<ref name="Amao2012b">{{cite book|last=Amao|first=Albert|title=The Dawning of the Golden Age of Aquarius: Redefining the Concepts of God, Man, and the Universe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZkOKM5VjHcC&pg=PA78|access-date=16 July 2012|date=2012|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4685-3752-9|page=78}}</ref> The name of the stone (perhaps coined by Bingham) derives from [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] language: ''inti'' means "sun", and ''wata-'', "to tie, hitch (up)". The suffix ''-na'' derives nouns for tools or places. Hence ''Intihuatana'' is literally an instrument or place to "tie up the sun", often expressed in English as "The Hitching Post of the Sun". The Inca believed the stone held the Sun in its place along its annual path in the sky.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Ancient Observatories – Timeless Knowledge | last = Scherrer | first = Deborah | url = http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/Ancient-Observatories.pdf | journal = Stanford University Solar Center | publisher = [[Stanford University]] | access-date = 2024-08-12 }}</ref> The stone is situated at 13°9'48" S. At midday on 11 November and 30 January, the Sun is situated almost exactly above the pillar, casting no shadow. On 21 June, the stone casts the longest shadow on its southern side, and on 21 December a much shorter shadow on its northern side.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dolan | first = Marion | title = Decoding Astronomy in Art and Architecture | chapter = Art, Architecture, and Astronomy in South America | doi = 10.1007/978-3-030-76511-8_17 | isbn = 978-3-030-76511-8 |pages = 295–336 | year = 2021 }}</ref>

====Inti Mach'ay and the Royal Feast of the Sun====
Inti Mach'ay is a special cave used to observe the Royal Feast of the Sun. This festival was celebrated during the Incan month of ''Qhapaq Raymi''. It began earlier in the month and concluded on the December solstice. On this day, noble boys were initiated into manhood by an ear-piercing ritual as they stood inside the cave and watched the sunrise.{{sfn|Dearborn|Schreiber|White|1987|p=346}}

Architecturally, Inti Mach'ay is often considered to be the most significant structure at Machu Picchu. Its entrances, walls, steps, and windows are some of the finest masonry in the Incan Empire. The cave also includes a tunnel-like window unique among Incan structures, which was constructed to allow sunlight into the cave only during several days around the December solstice. For this reason, the cave was inaccessible for much of the year.{{sfn|Dearborn|Schreiber|White|1987|pp=349–51}} Inti Mach'ay is located on the eastern side of Machu Picchu, just north of the "Condor Stone." Many of the caves surrounding this area were prehistorically used as tombs, yet there is no evidence that Mach'ay was a burial ground.{{sfn|Dearborn|Schreiber|White|1987|p=349.}}

====Dispute over cultural artifacts====
{{Main|Peru–Yale University dispute}}
[[File: Another artifact collected on Bingham's 1912 expedition to Macchu Picchu.jpg|thumb|Artifact collected on Bingham's 1912 expedition, on display at the Museo Machu Picchu|upright=1.2]]
In 1912, 1914 and 1915, Bingham removed thousands of artifacts from Machu Picchu—ceramic vessels, silver statues, jewelry, and human bones—and took them to Yale University for further study, supposedly for 18 months. Yale instead kept the artifacts until 2012, arguing that Peru lacked the infrastructure and systems to care for them. [[Eliane Karp]], an anthropologist and wife of former Peruvian President [[Alejandro Toledo]], accused Yale of profiting from Peru's cultural heritage. Many of the articles were exhibited at Yale's [[Peabody Museum of Natural History|Peabody Museum]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Swanson | first1 = Stephanie | title = Repatriating Cultural Property: The Dispute between Yale and Peru over the Treasures of Machu Picchu | journal = San Diego International Law Journal | volume = 10 | pages = 469 | year = 2009 | url = https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol10/iss2/7 }}</ref>
[[File:LA EXPOSICIÓN “MACHU PICCHU 100 AÑOS DESPUÉS- EL REENCUENTRO” EXHIBE ARÍBALOS Y CUENCOS DEVUELTOS AL PERÚ POR LA UNIVERSIDAD DE YALE (5592558910).jpg|thumb|[[Inca Empire#Ceramics, precious metals and textiles|Aryballos and bowls]] returned by [[Yale University]] in 2011]]
In 2006, Yale returned some pieces but retained more than 250 "museum-quality" pieces, claiming this was supported by federal case law of Peruvian antiquities.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kim |last=Martineau |date=14 March 2006 |title=Peru Presses Yale on Relics |url=https://www.courant.com/2006/03/14/peru-presses-yale-on-relics/ |work=[[Hartford Courant]]}}</ref> In 2007, the Peruvian government and Yale had agreed on a joint traveling exhibition and construction of a new museum and research center in Cusco advised by Yale. Yale acknowledged Peru's title to all the objects, but would share rights with Peru in the research collection, part of which would remain at Yale for continuing study.<ref>{{cite news |first=Edmund H. |last=Mahony |date=16 September 2007 |title=Yale To Return Incan Artifacts |url=https://www.courant.com/2007/09/16/yale-to-return-incan-artifacts/ |work=Hartford Courant}}</ref> In November 2010, Yale agreed to return the disputed artifacts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/20/peru.yale.artifacts/index.html?hpt=T2|title=Peru's president: Yale agrees to return Incan artifacts|publisher=[[CNN]] | date=20 November 2010}}</ref> The third and final batch of artifacts was delivered in November 2012.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zorthian|first=Julia|title=Yale returns final Machu Picchu artifacts|url=http://yaledailynews.com/crosscampus/2012/11/12/yale-returns-final-machu-picchu-artifacts/|work=Yale Daily News|date=13 November 2012|publisher=Yale University|access-date=24 February 2013}}</ref> The artifacts are permanently exhibited at the Museo Machu Picchu, La Casa Concha ("The Shell House"), close to Cusco's colonial center. Owned by the [[National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco|National University of San Antonio Abad del Cusco]], La Casa Concha also features a study area for local and foreign students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Machupicchu Museum - Casa Concha |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/sAVRKt5ce2F1IQ?hl=en |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref>

===Construction===
{{Main|Incan architecture}}
[[File:MachuPicchu Residential (pixinn.net).jpg|thumb|View of the residential section of Machu Picchu]]
[[File:Funerary Stone in Machu Picchu.jpg|thumb|Funerary Stone in upper cemetery]]

The central buildings in the Machu Picchu citadel use the classical Inca architectural style of polished [[Dry stone|dry-stone]] walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]].

The site may have been intentionally built on fault lines to provide natural drainage and a source of fractured stone for construction. According to geologist Rualdo Menegat, Machu Picchu "shows us that the Incan civilization was an empire of fractured rocks."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/News/pr/2019/19-38.aspx|title=Machu Picchu: Ancient Incan Sanctuary Intentionally Built on Faults |website=[[Geological Society of America]] |date=22 September 2019|access-date=2024-08-20}}</ref>

The section of the mountain where Machu Picchu was built provided various challenges that the Incas solved with local materials. One issue was the seismic activity due to two fault lines which made mortar and similar building methods nearly useless. Instead, the Inca mined stones from some quarries at the site,<ref>{{Cite book|title = Mining and quarrying in the Ancient Andes: sociopolitical, economic, and symbolic dimension|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xShLdiUer_EC&q=machu%20picchu%20stone%20quarries%20km&pg=PA52|date = 2012|language = en|first1 = Nicholas|last1 = Tripcevich|first2 = Kevin J.|last2 = Vaughn|page = 52|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|quote=In some cases, such as Machu Picchu, rock was quarried on site.|isbn = 978-1-4614-5200-3}}</ref> including one recently discovered using remote sensing techniques, which was probably located in the catchment area between the [[Government_of_the_Inca_Empire#Hurin_Suyukuna,_or_the_Lower_Quarters|Hurin]] and [[Government_of_the_Inca_Empire#Hanan_Suyukuna,_or_the_Upper_Quarters|Hanan]] before it was covered over to create the current Plaza Principal.{{sfn|Masini|Romano|Sieczkowska|2023}} Once mined, the Inca lined the granite stones up and shaped them to fit together perfectly, stabilizing the structures. Inca walls have many stabilizing features: doors and windows are trapezoidal, narrowing from bottom to top; corners usually are rounded; inside corners often incline slightly into the rooms, and outside corners were often tied together by L-shaped blocks; walls are offset slightly from row to row rather than rising straight from bottom to top.{{sfn|Astete|2020a|pp=313-326}}

Heavy rainfall required terraces to drain rain water and prevent mudslides, landslides, erosion, and flooding. Terraces were layered with stone chips, sand, dirt, and topsoil, to absorb water and prevent it from running down the mountain. Similar layering protected the large city center from flooding.{{sfn|Wright|Valencia Zegarra|2000}} Multiple canals and reserves throughout the city provided water that could be supplied to the terraces for irrigation and to prevent erosion and flooding.{{sfn|Reinhard|2020a|p=303-304}}

The approach to moving and placing the enormous stones remains uncertain, probably involving hundreds of men to push the stones up inclines. A few stones have knobs that could have been used to lever them into position; the knobs were generally sanded away, with a few overlooked.{{sfn|Puelles|2020a|pp=417-418}} For larger stones, the Incas likely employed ramps with gentle inclines, along with wooden rollers, levers, and ropes made from [[Furcraea andina|maguey]] fibers. Most stones were moved from higher to lower elevations, but some, like those at [[Ollantaytambo]], were transported over long distances.{{sfn|Puelles|2020a|pp=417-418}}

===Transportation===
The [[Inca road system]] included a route to the Machu Picchu region. The people of Machu Picchu were connected to long-distance trade, as shown by non-local artifacts found at the site. For example, Bingham found unmodified [[obsidian]] nodules at the entrance gateway. In the 1970s, [[Richard L. Burger|Burger]] and Asaro determined that these obsidian samples were from the ''Titicaca'' or [[Chivay obsidian source]], and that the samples from Machu Picchu showed long-distance transport of this obsidian type in pre-Hispanic Peru.{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=97}}

[[File:218 View from Inca Trail to Sun Gate Machu Picchu Peru 2486 (14977553069).jpg|thumb|View of Machu Picchu arriving from the [[Inca Trail to Machu Picchu|Inca Trail]]]]

Today, visitors can reach Machu Picchu via three main routes. The most popular option is the train journey from Cusco or [[Ollantaytambo]]. Operated by [[PeruRail]] and [[Inca Rail]], this scenic route takes visitors to the town of [[Aguas Calientes, Peru|Aguas Calientes]], from where they can take a bus ride of {{Convert|8.6|km|mi}} or walk to the Machu Picchu entrance.<ref name="masterplan"/>{{rp|94}}

Another widely chosen route is the [[Inca Trail to Machu Picchu|Inca Trail]], a historic path built by the Incas considered "the most famous hike in South America" by [[Lonely Planet]],<ref name="lp">{{cite book | title = Lonely Planet Peru (Travel Guide) | edition = 11th | publisher = [[Lonely Planet]] | isbn = 9781788684255 | publication-date = November 2021 | last1 = Sainsbury | first1 = Brendan | last2 = Egerton | first2 = Alex | last3 = Johanson | first3 = Mark | last4 = McCarthy | first4 = Carolyn | last5 = Tang | first5 = Phillip | last6 = Waterson | first6 = Luke }}</ref> attracting thousands of tourists each year.<ref>{{cite web | title = Machu Picchu recibió más de 144,000 visitantes en el primer trimestre de 2022 | url = https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/machu-picchu-recibi%C3%B3-m%C3%A1s-de-144-000-visitantes-en-el-primer-trimestre-de-2022/47695596 | website = Swissinfo | date = 9 April 2022 | language = es | access-date = 2024-08-12 }}</ref>
The trail, which starts at Piscacucho (also known as Km 82 on the railway to Aguas Calientes) or Km 104, depending on the length of the trek, spans approximately {{Convert|42|km|mi}} and reaches an altitude of {{Convert|4200|m|ft}}.<ref name="trail">{{cite web |title=The Women Porters Making History on Peru's Inca Trail |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210803-the-women-porters-making-history-on-perus-inca-trail |website=BBC Travel |date=3 August 2021 |access-date=12 August 2024}}
</ref><ref name="lp"/> It passes through the [[Andes]] and various archaeological sites before reaching the [[Inti Punku|Sun Gate]] (Intipunku) at Machu Picchu. Due to limited permits, advance booking through a tourism agency is required.<ref name="trail"/>

Alternatively, travelers can take a less conventional route that involves traveling by road to a point near the [[Hydroelectric Station (train station)|Hydroelectric station]]. From there, they can either walk or take a short train ride to Aguas Calientes.<ref name="masterplan"/>{{rp|86}} This option is generally more affordable and does not require advance booking, but it is less recommended during the rainy season due to potential landslide risks.<ref>{{cite web | last=Collyns | first=Dan | title=Bridge stirs the waters in Machu Picchu | website=BBC News | date=2007-02-01 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6292327.stm | access-date=2024-08-21}}</ref>

As of November 2024, the construction of a new paved roadway right to the doorstep of the historic site is in progress and due for completion in 2025. The path, otherwise known as Santa María-Santa Teresa-Machu Picchu Hydroelectric Bridge highway, involves 28.41 kilometers (22 miles) of asphalt-paved roads that would generally reduce access time to the heritage site from 4 or 5 hours, to 2 hours.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Road Project to Improve Access to Peru's Machu Picchu Site {{!}} Engineering News-Record |url=https://www.enr.com/articles/58619-road-project-to-improve-access-to-perus-machu-picchu-site |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=www.enr.com |language=en}}</ref>