Editing Machu Picchu (section)

===Ancient life===
====Daily life in Machu Picchu====
[[File:Machu Picchu, Perú, 2015-07-30, DD 47.JPG|thumb|View of the ancient houses]]
During its use as an estate, it is estimated that about 750 people lived there, with most serving as support staff (''[[Yanakuna|yanaconas]], yana)''{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=24}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Turner|first=Bethany L.|date=2010|title=Variation in Dietary Histories Among the Immigrants of Machu Picchu: Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Evidence|journal=[[Chungara (journal)|Chungara, Revista de Antropología Chilena]]|volume=42|issue=2|pages=515–534|doi=10.4067/s0717-73562010000200012|doi-access=free}}</ref> who lived there permanently. Though the estate belonged to Pachacutec, religious specialists and temporary specialized workers (''mayocs'') lived there as well, most likely for the ruler's well-being and enjoyment. During winter, which was usually the harsher season, staffing was reduced to a few hundred servants and a few religious specialists focused on maintenance alone.{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=86}}

Studies show that, according to their skeletal remains, most people who lived there were immigrants from diverse backgrounds. They lacked the chemical markers and [[Osteology|osteological]] markers they would have if they had been living there their entire lives. Instead, research into skeletal remains has found bone damage from various species of water [[Parasites of humans|parasites]] indigenous to different areas of Peru. There were also varying osteological stressors and varying chemical densities suggesting varying long-term diets characteristic of specific regions that were spaced apart.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Turner|first1=Bethany L.|last2=Armelagos|first2=George J.|date=1 September 2012|title=Diet, residential origin, and pathology at Machu Picchu, Peru|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|language=en|volume=149|issue=1 |pages=71–83|doi=10.1002/ajpa.22096|pmid=22639369|issn=1096-8644}}</ref> These diets are composed of varying levels of [[maize]], [[potato]]es, [[grain]]s, [[legume]]s, and [[fish]], but the last-known short-term diet for these people was overall composed of less fish and more corn. This suggests that several of the immigrants were from more coastal areas and moved to Machu Picchu, where corn was a larger portion of food intake.<ref name=":1" /> Most skeletal remains found at the site had lower levels of [[arthritis]] and [[bone fracture]]s than those found in most sites of the [[Inca Empire]]. Incan individuals who had arthritis and bone fractures were typically those who performed heavy physical labor (such as the [[Mit'a]]) or served in the [[Inca army|Inca military]].{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=88}}

Animals are also suspected to have been brought to Machu Picchu, as there were several bones found that were not native to the area. Most animal bones found were from [[llama]]s and [[alpaca]]s. These animals naturally live at altitudes of {{convert|4000|m|-3|sp=us}} rather than the {{convert|2400|m|-2|sp=us}} elevation of Machu Picchu. Most likely, these animals were brought in from the [[Puna grassland|Puna]] region<ref>{{cite journal |title=Reviewing human-environment interactions in arid regions of southern South America during the past 3000 years |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=281 |issue=3–4 |pages=283–295 |year=2009 |last1=Morales |first1=M. |last2=Barberena |first2=R. |last3=Belardi |first3=J.B. |last4=Borrero |first4=L. |last5=Cortegoso |first5=V. |last6=Durán |first6=V. |last7=Guerci |first7=A. |last8=Goñi |first8=R. |last9=Gil |first9=A. |last10=Neme |first10=G. |last11=Yacobaccio |first11=H. |last12=Zárate |first12=M. |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.09.019 |bibcode=2009PPP...281..283M}}</ref> for meat consumption and for their pelts. [[Guinea pig]]s were also found at the site in special tomb caves, suggesting that they were at least used for funerary rituals,{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=94}} as it was common throughout the Inca Empire to use them for sacrifices and meat.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGtFCQAAQBAJ&q=guinea&pg=PA38|title=Daily Life in the Inca Empire |last=Malpass|first=Michael A.|edition=2nd |year=2009|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|isbn=978-0-313-35549-3|language=en|page=38}}</ref> Six dogs were also recovered from the site. Due to their placements among the human remains, it is believed that they served as companions of the dead.{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=94}}

====Agricultural activity====
[[File:Andenes at Machu Picchu (cropped).jpg|thumb|{{Lang|es|[[Andén|Andenes (terraces)]]}} used for [[farming]] at Machu Picchu|upright=1.2]]
Much of the [[Incan agriculture|farming]] done at Machu Picchu was done on its hundreds of {{Lang|es|[[Andén|andenes]]}} (man-made terraces). These terraces were a work of considerable engineering, built to ensure good drainage and soil fertility while also protecting the mountain itself from erosion and landslides. However, the terraces were not perfect, as studies of the land show that there were landslides that happened during the construction of Machu Picchu. Still visible are places where the terraces were shifted by landslides and then stabilized by the Inca as they continued to build around the area.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Brown|first=Jeff L.|date=January 2001|title=Rediscovering the lost city|journal=Civil Engineering; New York|volume=71|pages=32–39|id={{ProQuest|228471133}}}}</ref> The terraces also enabled irrigation, increasing crop yields, with maize likely being the main crop due to its ceremonial importance, alongside possible cultivation of potatoes.{{sfn|Reinhard|2020a|p=303}}

However, terrace farming area makes up only about {{cvt|12|acre|ha|disp=flip}} of land, and a study of the soil around the terraces showed that what was grown there was mostly corn and potatoes, which was not enough to support the 750+ people living at Machu Picchu. This explains why studies done on the food that the Inca ate at Machu Picchu suggest it was imported from the surrounding valleys and farther afield.<ref name=":3" />

It is estimated that the area around the site has received more than {{cvt|1800|mm}} of rain per year since AD 1450, which was more than that needed to support crop growth. Because of the ample rainfall at Machu Picchu, it was found that [[Irrigation in Peru|irrigation]] was not usually needed for the terraces. The terraces received so much rain that they were built by [[Incan engineers]] specifically to allow for drainage of excess water. Excavation and soil analyses done by Kenneth Wright<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Kenneth Robert Wright|first=Richard G.|last=Weingardt|date=19 April 2008|journal=Leadership and Management in Engineering|volume=8|issue=2|pages=87–92|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)1532-6748(2008)8:2(87)|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":2"/> in the 1990s showed that the terraces were built in layers, with a bottom layer of larger stones covered by loose gravel.<ref name=":2"/> On top of the gravel was a layer of mixed sand and gravel packed together, with rich topsoil covering it. Research showed that the topsoil was probably moved from the valley floor to the terraces because it was much better than the soil higher up the mountain.{{sfn|Burger|Salazar|2004|p=101}}

====Human sacrifice and mysticism====
Little information exists surrounding human sacrifices at Machu Picchu, though it is known that many sacrifices were never given a proper burial, and their skeletal remains succumbed to the elements.<ref name="Gaither">{{cite journal|last=Gaither|first=Catherine|author2=Jonathan Kent|author3=Victor Sanchez|author4=Teresa Tham|date=June 2008|title=Mortuary Practices and Human Sacrifice in the Middle Chao Valley of Peru: Their Interpretation in the Context of Andean Mortuary Patterning|journal=Latin American Antiquity|volume=19|issue=2|pages=107, 115, 119|doi=10.1017/S1045663500007744|s2cid=162727279}}</ref> However, there is evidence that retainers were sacrificed to accompany a deceased noble in the afterlife.<ref name=Gaither/>{{rp|107, 119}} Animal, liquid and dirt sacrifices to the gods were more common and were made at the Altar of the Condor. The tradition is upheld by members of the [[Pachamama#New Age worship|New Age Andean religion]].<ref name=Hill>{{cite journal|last=Hill|first=Michael|title=Myth, Globalization, and Mestizaje in New Age Andean Religion: The Intic Churincuna (Children of the Sun) of Urubamba, Peru|journal=Ethnohistory|date=2010|volume=57|issue=2|pages=263, 273–2m75|doi=10.1215/00141801-2009-063}}</ref>{{rp|263}}