Editing Machu Picchu (section)

====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}}