Wonder of the world
An Inca royal estate of fitted dry-stone buildings and farming terraces on a ridge 2,430 m up in the Andes, probably built for the emperor Pachacuti. Left around the time of the Spanish conquest, it drew world attention after Hiram Bingham's visit in 1911.
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Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at 2,430 meters (7,970 ft). It is situated in the Machupicchu District of Urubamba Province about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Cusco, above the Sacred Valley and along the Urubamba River, which forms a deep canyon with a subtropical mountain climate.
Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most iconic symbols of the Inca civilization and a major archaeological site in the Americas. Estimated to be built around 1450, it is believed to have served as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, though no contemporary written records exist to confirm this. The site was abandoned roughly a century later, likely during the Spanish conquest. Modern radiocarbon dating places its occupation between c. 1420 and 1530.
Machu Picchu was constructed in the classical Inca style, featuring finely crafted dry-stone walls. Notable structures include the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows, and the Intihuatana ritual stone. Although the site was known locally and reached in the early 20th century by the Peruvian explorer Agustín Lizárraga, it was brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham III. The original Inca name of the site may have been Huayna Picchu, after the mountain on which part of the complex stands.
Designated a National Historic Sanctuary by Peru in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, Machu Picchu was also named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. As of 2025, the site receives over 1.5 million visitors annually, making it Peru's most visited international tourist destination.
The site is on a narrow saddle between two mountain peaks, Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu. In the Quechua language, machu means 'old' or 'old person' and wayna (spelled huayna in standard Spanish orthography) means 'young', while pikchu refers to a 'summit', 'peak', or 'pyramid'. Thus, the name of the site is often translated as 'old mountain' or 'old peak'.
Although the original name given to the settlement by its builders is not definitively known, a 2021 study in Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of the Institute of Andean Studies suggests that the site was likely called "Huayna Picchu", after the smaller peak nearby, or simply "Picchu". According to the research, the association of the name Machu Picchu with the ruins likely began with American explorer Hiram Bingham's 1911 publications, a conclusion supported by Bingham's field notes, early maps, and historical documents.
Machu Picchu’s early chronology continues to be a matter of scholarly debate. Earlier chronological models, based mainly on John H. Rowe's historical reconstruction of the reign of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, have placed the beginning of construction around 1450, 10 years after his takeover. However, a 2021 study led by Richard L. Burger, professor of anthropology at Yale University), reporting 26 AMS radiocarbon measurements from human remains concluded that Machu Picchu was occupied from around 1420 to 1530. Similar conclusions supporting an earlier 15th-century chronology have been reported by other radiocarbon studies. Construction appears to date from two Sapa Incas, Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438–1471) and Túpac Inca Yupanqui (1472–1493).
A consensus among archaeologists is that Pachacutec ordered the construction of the royal estate after his conquest of the middle and lower Urubamba; this has been interpreted as part of a broader program of establishing royal estates along the Urubamba River. Machu Picchu’s palace complex is thought to have functioned as a seasonal royal retreat. Although Machu Picchu is considered to be a royal estate, it would not have been passed down in the line of succession. Rather, it was used for 80 years before being abandoned, seemingly because of the Spanish conquests in other parts of the Inca Empire. It is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travelers before the Spanish conquistadors even arrived in the area.
During its use as an estate, it is estimated that about 750 people lived there, with most serving as support staff (yanaconas) 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.
Studies of skeletal remains found at Machu Picchu show that most people who lived there were immigrants from diverse backgrounds. Genome-wide analyses indicate that the retainer community (yanacona and former aclla) was genetically diverse, including Andean, coastal, Ecuadorian, and Amazonian ancestries, with individuals of different ancestries living, reproducing, and being buried together. They lacked the chemical markers and 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 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 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. Most skeletal remains found at the site had lower levels of arthritis and bone fractures 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 military.
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 llamas and alpacas. These animals naturally live at altitudes of 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) rather than the 2,400 meters (7,900 ft) elevation of Machu Picchu. 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 tomb 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.
Much of the farming carried out at Machu Picchu was done on its andenes (artificial terraces). These terraces were a work of considerable engineering, built to ensure 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. The terraces also facilitated the management of water for agriculture, increasing crop yields, with maize likely being the main crop due to its ceremonial importance, alongside possible cultivation of potatoes.
However, terrace farming area makes up only about 4.9 ha (12 acres) 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 more than 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.
It is estimated that the area around the site has received more than 1,800 mm (71 in) of rain per year since AD 1450, which was more than that needed to support crop growth. Because of this ample rainfall, routine irrigation was generally unnecessary for the terraces. They 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 in the 1990s showed that the terraces were built in layers, with a bottom layer of larger stones covered by loose gravel. 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.
In Inca religion, human sacrifice, most prominently the capacocha ritual involving carefully selected, unblemished children, was practised at major huacas on exceptional occasions to secure supernatural favour and to consolidate political and religious authority. At Machu Picchu, however, there is little direct evidence for human sacrifice; the archaeological record instead indicates that animal offerings, particularly camelids, were common, with the Temple of the Condor and adjacent caves interpreted as sites for ritual sacrifice. Numerous camelid remains recovered at the site have been associated with funerary rituals and other ceremonial offerings. Excavations documented approximately 104 caves and rock shelters used as burial chambers around Machu Picchu, containing the remains of about 174 individuals, interpreted as largely belonging to yanaconas of diverse ethnic origins rather than the Inca elite.
Machu Picchu is believed to have been abandoned in the mid-16th century, around the time of the Spanish conquest, likely due to the collapse of Inca rule and disease following European contact. In the late 16th century, Spaniards who had gained control of the area documented that indigenous individuals mentioned returning to "Huayna Picchu", the name that is believed to be originally given to the site by locals. The Spanish conquistador Baltasar de Ocampo had notes of a visit during the end of the 16th century to a mountain fortress called Pitcos with sumptuous and majestic buildings, erected with great skill and art, all the lintels of the doors, as well the principal as the ordinary ones, being of marble and elaborately carved.
Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have been rediscovered and exploited in the late 19th century by the German engineer Augusto Berns. Some suggest the German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier, though there's no solid evidence. Maps reference Machu Picchu as early as 1874, and a 1904 atlas labeled it as Huayna Picchu.
In 1902, Peruvian explorer Agustín Lizárraga led an expedition to the area now known as Machu Picchu. After several hours of clearing undergrowth, they reached the stone structures of the citadel. During that visit, Lizárraga marked his surname and the year, "A. Lizárraga 1902", in charcoal on the central window of the Temple of the Three Windows. In 1911, American historian and explorer Hiram Bingham traveled the region looking for the lost capital of the Neo-Inca state (later established to be Vilcabamba), established by Manco Inca after the Spanish conquest. They were led to Machu Picchu by a villager, Melchor Arteaga. Bingham found the surname of Lizárraga and the 1902 date on the temple. Initially disappointed, he documented in his pocket field journal: "Agustín Lizárraga is discoverer of Machu Picchu and lives at San Miguel Bridge just before passing." However, while Bingham initially acknowledged Lizárraga as the discoverer in his early writings and speeches, including Inca Land (1922), he gradually downplayed Lizárraga's role until, in his final version of the story, Lost City of the Incas (1952), Bingham claimed to have found the site himself. In a 1922 letter to the head of the school he had once attended in Honolulu, Bingham wrote:
I suppose that in the same sense of the word as it is used in the expression "Columbus discovered America" it is fair to say that I discovered Machu Picchu. The Norsemen and the French fishermen undoubtedly visited North America long before Columbus crossed the Atlantic. On the other hand it was Columbus who made America known to the civilized world. In the same sense of the word I "discovered" Machu Picchu—in that before my visit and report on it it was not known to the geographical and historical societies in Peru, nor to the Peruvian government.
Though Bingham was not the first to visit the ruins, he was considered the scientific discoverer who brought Machu Picchu to international attention. Bingham organized another expedition in 1912 to undertake major clearing and excavation.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Machu Picchu”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.