"Machu picchu" place with history to visit.

Place With History To Visit 

Machu Picchu :-

                      MachuPikchu. [ˈmɑtʃuˈ piktʃu]) is a 15th century Incacitadel situated on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. 

location:-

It is locatedin the Cusco Region, UrubambaProvince, Machupicchu District in Peru, above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres (50 mile) northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows.

Build by:-

Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, 

 Room of the Three Windows

Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas" (a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba), it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared.By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored and restoration continues.

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

Etymology:-

In the Quechua language, machu means "old" or "old person", while pikchu means "peak; mountain or prominence with a broad base that ends in sharp peaks",hence the name of the site means "old peak".

                  In 1975 Peru became the first country to recognize Quechua as one of its official languages.Ecuador conferred official status on the language in its 2006 constitution, and in 2009, Bolivia adopted a new constitution that recognized Quechua and several other indigenous languages as official languages of the country.

The major obstacle to the usage and teaching of Quechuan languages is the lack of written materials in the languages, such as books, newspapers, software, and magazines. 

                                                              The Bible has been translated into Quechua and is distributed by certain missionary groups. Quechua, along with Aymara and minor indigenous languages, remains essentially a spoken language.

In recent years, Quechua has been introduced in intercultural bilingual education (IBE) in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Even in these areas, the governments are reaching only a part of the Quechua-speaking populations. Some indigenous people in each of the countries are having their children study in Spanish for the purposes of social advancement.

Radio Nacional del Perú broadcasts news and agrarian programs in Quechua for periods in the mornings.

Quechua and Spanish are now heavily intermixed in much of the Andean region, with many hundreds of Spanish loanwords in Quechua. Similarly, Quechua phrases and words are commonly used by Spanish speakers. 

                                     In southern rural Bolivia, for instance, many Quechua words such as wawa(infant), misi (cat), waska (strap or thrashing), are as commonly used as their Spanish counterparts, even in entirely Spanish-speaking areas. Quechua has also had a profound influence on other native languages of the Americas, such as Mapuche.

History:-

Machu Picchu was built around 1450–1460. Its construction appears to date to the period of the two great Inca rulers, Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438–71) and Túpac Inca Yupanqui (1472–93).

There is a consensus among archaeologists that Pachacutec ordered the construction of the royal estate for himself, most likely after his successful military campaign. 

Though Machu Picchu is considered to be a "royal" estate, surprisingly, the estate would not have been passed down in the line of succession.

                     It was only used for approximately 80 years before being abandoned seemingly due to destruction of the Spanish Conquests in other parts of the Inca Empire. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travellers before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area.

Daily Life of Machu Picchu as a royal estate:-

During its use as a royal estate, it is estimated that no more than 750 people lived there at a time, most people being support staff (yanaconas, yana)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 the harsher season, staff dropped down to around a hundred servants and a few religious specialists focused only on maintenance.

                                                                         

 Studies show that according to their skeletal remains, most people who lived there were immigrants from diverse backgrounds. They lacked the chemical markers and osteological markers they would have if they had been living there their whole lives. Instead, there was bone damage from various species of water 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.

                    These diets are composed of varying levels of maize, potatoes, grains, legumes, and fish, but the overall most recent short-term diet for these people was 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.

The skeletal remains found at Machu Picchu are also unique in their level of natural bone damage from laborious activities. Most people found at the site had lower levels of arthritis and bone fractures found in most sites of the Inca Empire. Inca individuals that have arthritis and bone fractures are typically those who performed heavy physical labor (such as the Mit'a) and/or served in the Inca military.

Not only people were suspected to have immigrated to Machu Picchu, there were several animal bones found that were not native to the site. Most animal bones found were from llamas and alpacas. These animals naturally live in altitudes of 14000 ft above sea level rather than the mere 8000 ft Machu Picchu rests on. 

Most likely, these animals were brought in from the Puna region for meat consumption and for their pelts. Guinea pigs were also found at the site in special burial caves, suggesting that they were at least used for funerary rituals as it was common throughout the Inca Empire to use them for sacrifices and meat. 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.

Some interesting facts:-

• One of the Seven Wonders of the World.

• No wheels were used to transport heavy rocks for the construction of the city.

• Structures were built with a technique called “ashlar.” Stones are cut to fit together without mortar. Remarkably, not even a needle can fit in between two stones.

• The citadel is divided in two parts: Hanan and Urin according with the Inca tradition.

• In the Quechua native language, “Machu Picchu” means “Old Peak” or "Old Mountain".

• Many of the stones that were used to build the city weighed more than 50 tons. How did these stones get up the mountain? Some were chiseled from the granite bedrock of the mountain ridge. For others, hundreds of men pushed the heavy rocks up the steep mountain side.

• On the Inca Trail, many porters sleep with a shiny metal object or mirror beneath them. They believe it sends away spirits coming up through the earth and whisks them away. Ask any guide or porter, and most will tell you that sometimes they have experienced the feeling of being pulled out of their tents by spirits of the past.

• The exact age of Machu Picchu, the most representative and ancient city of Peru, has been clarified by scientific studies on the geology and archaeology of the site.

• Can you imagine the size and scale of Machu Picchu? The sanctuary is located in the district of Machu Picchu, in the province of Urubamba in the department of Cusco. The site is South America’s most impressive archaeological ruin. 

• Many people ask: why is Machu Picchu so important ? The Citadel of Machu Picchu is considered the main tourist attraction in Peru and one of the most visited worldwide. 

• Machu Picchu is also known as the Lost City of the Incas. It is a mysterious wonder. A city of stone built without the aid of wheels or iron tools. This is the best example of Inca engineering. More than 600 terraces prevent the city from sliding down the mountain. A water supply system extends over a length of about 1 km.