MACHU PICCHU: CONSTRUCTION

The central buildings of Machu Picchu use the classical Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions in the central city are so perfect that it is said not even a blade of grass fits between the stones.

View of the residential section of Machu Picchu

The section of the mountain which Machu Picchu was built on provided several beneficial and detrimental factors. The most apparent detriment was that Machu Picchu was built between two fault lines. This location also frequently received heavy rainfall; this meant that land and mud slides in the area were also common. The Inca needed a solution to these detriments, and Machu Picchu would offer everything they needed.

The seismic activity which is caused by being between two fault lines led the use of mortar and other such building materials to be nearly useless. However, the Inca developed a successful method which allowed the construction of Machu Picchu to be possible. The site offered a natural quarry which was used to construct the over 200 buildings which would sit on the mountaintop.

The stones harvested from this quarry were lined up, and shaped to perfectly fit together in a manner which would supply a more sturdy method than mortar would have. However, the Inca would also use the chips which they carved off of the stones in their construction and as a method to avoid mud and landslides, as well as flooding.

These stone chips were used in the terraces and in the large courtyard in the center of Machu Picchu. The terraces were used chiefly to drain and syphon the water from rain, as well as to hold the mountain in place. Each terrace was multi layered: first top soil, then dirt, sand and finally stone chips. This meant that water which sat on the terraces would sift downward into the mountain, as opposed to overflowing and running down the mountain.

The large center area of Machu Picchu also had a system similar to this in place which, again, assisted the main inhabited portion of Machu Picchu from flooding.

Inca walls had numerous design details that helped protect them against collapsing in an earthquake. Doors and windows are trapezoidal and tilt inward from bottom to top; corners usually are rounded; inside corners often incline slightly into the rooms; and "L"-shaped blocks often were used to tie outside corners of the structure together. These walls do not rise straight from bottom to top, but are offset slightly from row to row.

Inca civilization
Incan architecture is the most significant pre-Columbian architecture in South America. The Incas inherited an architectural legacy from Tiwanaku, founded in the 2nd century BCE in present day Bolivia. The capital of the Inca empire, Cuzco, still contains many fine examples of Inca architecture, although many walls of Inca masonry have been incorporated into Spanish Colonial structures. The famous royal estate of Machu Picchu is a surviving example of Inca architecture. Other significant sites include Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo. The Incas also developed an extensive road system spanning most of the western length of the

continent...OP+

INCA LAND - HIRAM BINGHAM YALE UNIVERSITY October 1, 1922

Some of my story has already been told in Harper’s and the National Geographic, to whose editors acknowledgments are due for permission to use the material in its present form. A glance at the Bibliography will show that more than sixty articles and monographs have been published as a result of the Peruvian Expeditions of Yale University and the National Geographic Society. Other reports are still in course of preparation. My own observations are based partly on a study of these monographs and the writings of former travelers, partly on the maps and notes made by my companions, and partly on a study of our Peruvian photographs, a collection now numbering over eleven thousand negatives. Another source of information was the opportunity of frequent conferences with my fellow explorers. One of the great advantages of large expeditions is the bringing to bear on the same problem of minds which have received widely different training.

Searching for Lost Worlds: Machu Picchu: Secrets of the Incan Empire [VHS]

National Geographic Sent Bingham back to Peru in 1912 to take pictures for an entire issue devoted to the Incas, whose breathtaking stonework shrines were once covered in gold, whose kings had worn cloaks of bat skin, who called silver "the tears of the moon, "gold and" the Sweat of the sun. " Machu Picchu Tells you these and Other Fascinating facts About the Inca and Their Escape Route Through Valleys and sacred mountaintop Cities as THEY Fled the Spanish conquistadors in the Early 1500s, as well as relating the Story of Bingham's passion for exploration and how he parlayed his exploration fame into a political career. Anyone for WHO Dreams of the thrill of Exploration, IS Curious About the Incan Empire, Or IS interested in Stunning images of southeastern Peru, Machu Picchu IS a Great Introduction to Early 20th-century Incan Exploration.

BOOK

Written by his son Alfred M. Bingham, this biography conveys the ambitious, multifaceted personality of Hiram Bingham III, the explorer who rediscovered the lost Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. It is a life of both high accomplishments and very human failings. The son and grandson of New England missionaries in the Pacific, Hiram Bingham was raised to carry on the family tradition within the church. But rebelling against the piety and poverty of his background, he chose instead an academic career and married an heiress, a grand-daughter of the founder of Tiffany and Co. His overnight acquisition of great wealth opened many opportunities to Bingham. During his career as an academic specializing in Latin American history, the Tiffany money helped support five scientific expeditions, one of which led to Machu Picchu and his lasting fame. Later it also facilitated a political career, culminating in his serving two terms as a U. S. Senator from Connecticut. This book chronicles Hiram Bingham's achievements, with emphasis on the explorations of which he was most proud, as well as some of his more questionable actions. His adventurous character is brought to life in all its human complexity. This 'must have' book chronicling Hiram Bingham's South American explorations and his 'discovery' of the famous lost Inca city is lavishly illustrated with many photos, maps and sketches. Most are by Hiram Bingham and other members of the Peruvian expeditions. This book should be of interest both to the serious scholar of Inca history and culture as well as the traveller interested in learning more about the events leading to Machu Picchu becoming the great tourist attraction that it is today. This book was originally published in 1989 under the title Portrait of an Explorer: Hiram Bingham, Discoverer of Machu Picchu.

CONSTRUCTION

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