By: Luan Zuccarello
Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca site located in the mountains of Peru and is definitely one of the first things to do on my Bucket List. It was built around 1460 AD but was abandoned 100 years later due mostly to smallpox. The architectural and agricultural techniques put forth by Incas were revolutionary and are the basis for these industries today. Machu Picchu was built by using polished dry-stone walls. These walls were put together using the technique “ashlar”, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly WITHOUT MORTAR! The Incas were the best stone masons in the world and is said that a blade of grass could not even fit between the stones. I don’t know about you but I can’t even buy a TV stand from IKEA and put it together, not to mention make it last for over 500 years!
Machu Picchu is said to be a holy site with most of their structures pointed to important Incan astrological signs. One structure the Intihuatana Stone was said to hold the sun in place and is arranged to point directly at the sun during the winter solstice. Along with being a spiritual place, Machu Picchu was well fortified atop a high mountain plateau. The city sits in a saddle between two mountains, with a commanding view down into two valleys and a nearly impassable mountain at its back. It has a water supply from springs that cannot be blocked easily, and enough land to grow food for about four times as many people as ever lived there. The city was built on levels or platforms that allowed rain fall to pour down and collect at the lower levels. The Incas planted their crops this way. The crops that needed more rain fall and water at the bottom and the ones that needed less were planted at the top. This led to fertile ground, less land erosion, and less work to maintain their food.
In 2007 Machu Picchu was voted as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. There is also a legend that Incan women were the ones who made the beer or “chica”. The women were bigger drunks then the men, often hosting wild parties. Not any woman could brew beer, she had to be chosen for this task based on beauty and nobility. The brewery used to get so hot that most of the time these “brew-masters” had to remove their clothing and work in the nude. Damn….What I wouldn’t give to have been an Inca.