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Machu Picchu Essay example

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Machu Picchu

The sacred city of Machu Picchu (in Quechua: old mountain) is the greatest Inca masterpiece. Incredibly daring and inventive, it was built on the most difficult, wild and inaccessible mountain area available. It is known world-wide not only for its impressive and unique ruins, but also for its unusual location on the edge of an abyss, from which one can appreciate the vigorous waters of the Urubamba river.
I wonder how the Incas were able to carry the huge blocks of stone to the top of the mountain and build such a spectacular exponent of their wisdom and culture remains a mystery to this day.
Of religious and military origin, the sacred city of Machu Picchu was enclosed by a 6-meter high by 1.8 wide wall. According …show more content…

The premises were organized in “neighborhoods”, each with its specific functions are determined by their formal characteristics and the cultural clues found during excavations, such as the area used as a storehouse for corn or coca, which were grown on the terraces. A different area stands out because of the large number of mortars there (16), which were probably used to make chichi (an alcoholic drink made from fermented maize), this still being a popular drink in Andean religious festivities. A third sector includes the residences used by local people to carry out specialized productive activities, religious worship or the administration of agricultural products.
Some premises are remarkable for the exquisite and delicately worked of the walls, comparable to the fine buildings existing in the Cusco, such as the Coricancha or the Acllachuasi. These were, possibly, the most important buildings in the area.
The premises encircle two minor squares and a big public square in the middle of the urban sector. There are also several buildings which evidently served a ceremonial function. Among the most outstanding sites we can mention the “Templo de las Tres Ventanas” (Three-windowed Temple) and the Intihuatana (5), a stone carved specifically to carry out astronomic observations. I also observed here a complex of sanitary and fountain system. It is undeniable that the harmony projected by Machu Picchu through its holy spaces and

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