The History of Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is as it is known today to this citadel of the Inca Empire whose ruins date back to 1300 AD. However, "Montaña Vieja", as its translation indicates, comes from the native Quechua language, a native language still with a lot of presence in some communities in the south of the country, where this city is known as Machu Picchu.
This citadel still contains the remains of the old settlement formed by this town part of the Inca civilization, located east of the depression formed by the mountainous systems Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu with the Central Andes to the south of the country. This geographical location on the eastern slope of the Vilcanota mountain range, just 80 kilometers from the city of Cuzco, still has many of the remains and stone ruins built on all the slopes of these mountainous systems, presenting the different historical periods of the Inca civilization that left their mark and history in the citadel of Machu Picchu.
The construction of the citadel of Machu Picchu is attributed to the great emperor, as well as a great Inca statesman, Pachacutec who, during his empire from 1438 to 1471 AD, planned the design of this citadel to tackle the problem of population growth in this way. as the exploitation of the lands. This demographic situation forced Pachacútec to send a series of exploration teams to secure subsequent settlements. After the victory in the battle against the Chanca civilization waged at Machu Picchu, the Pachacútec empire began its expansion, reaching its peak with the creation of the great city of Cuzco.
Everything indicates that the main reason was both demographic and intellectual expansion, because Pachacutec was well known as a spiritual leader and an excellent leader. The final use of the citadel was strictly reserved for the high Inca nobility and because it was strategically designed to take full advantage of its location, the citadel knew how to accommodate more than three generations while preventing access to anyone who did not belonged to the Inca nobility, because there was only a single entrance to which it was used in their favor to improve the city's protection measures. The settlement is located between deep valleys surrounded by kilometers of dense jungle, so it could be easily defended in case of attack, but it was also used to prevent the access of the lower commoner social classes. The fact of such a high level of restriction of access could cause isolation and disappearance, after the abandonment of the city, of this very important legacy of the Inca civilization.
The Tahuantinsuyo Empire is the only one that has these colossal architectural wonders that include the world-famous citadels of Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo. Pachacútec chose the exact location of these settlements based on the development of agricultural production and the extraction of mineral deposits because these valleys provide a series of excellent weather conditions for agronomic exploitation as well as a high soil richness suitable for both agronomy as for the extraction in deposits of mineral deposits. The great fertility of the land and the more than excellent environmental conditions with an ideal climate for agricultural production were not the only motivations of Pachacútec for the expansion of the Empire to these unexplored territories where, from its ruins, a large number of buildings can be understood that formed the infrastructure of an entire city: quarries, fields for both cultivation and livestock, urban and religious centers and a communication network consisting of countless paths and passages through the mountains; The Machu Picchu site was designated at the same time with the idea of accommodating the high aristocracy of the Inca Empire, so this citadel presents the most precious architectural works by the Empire. Another reason for this settlement by the high social class also focuses on the fact that the geographical location of Machu Picchu was extremely important for the religion of civilization, since the mountain chain system that houses Machu Picchu had a great spiritual meaning to be considered as the sacred site where the astronomical study of constellations of stars and the sun, stars representing the deities of the Inca civilization would be practiced.
The city is completely built in stone and was located at a very high altitude, exactly 2,400 meters above sea level. It was undoubtedly the place of spiritual retreat, rest and meditation center par excellence, explicitly reserved as a place of recreation and sanctuary of the highest spheres of Inca society. But, likewise, such an impressive urban focus required all the infrastructures of every city, so the slopes of the Vilcanota mountain range comprised the supply center of the citizens of Machu Picchu, where an abundant number of plateaus can still be found which were designed for agriculture and livestock, as well as hundreds of mining operations.
Although the idea that Machu Picchu became part of a warlike fortification system has been rejected, it has been recognized on the other hand that Machu Picchu was also projected with the idea of housing a certain number of buildings designed to offer defense measures against possible attacks by other neighboring civilizations with which the Inca Empire maintained several territorial clashes. This unbeatable architectural design could be carried out thanks to the perfect location and final location of the citadel, which took advantage of the unbeatable conditions of camouflage provided by this extreme landscape surrounded by deep valleys and thick jungle. History confirms that Huayna Pichu was the surveillance point of the city of Machu Picchu that served as a watchman against the threatened territorial civilizations of neighboring and, later of the Spanish conquerors. In this way, the city could be prepared to receive the enemy attack, if said enemy were able to find the exact location of the city as well as the path to it. Therefore, this sanctuary was able to preserve its purpose as a leisure and recreation center as well as shelter for high society because it was hidden in the most remote part of the Andean jungle.
The Tahuantinsuyo Empire is the only one that has these colossal architectural wonders that include the world-famous citadels of Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo. Pachacútec chose the exact location of these settlements based on the development of agricultural production and the extraction of mineral deposits because these valleys provide a series of excellent weather conditions for agronomic exploitation as well as a high soil richness suitable for both agronomy as for the extraction in deposits of mineral deposits. The great fertility of the land and the more than excellent environmental conditions with an ideal climate for agricultural production were not the only motivations of Pachacútec for the expansion of the Empire to these unexplored territories where, from its ruins, a large number of buildings can be understood that formed the infrastructure of an entire city: quarries, fields for both cultivation and livestock, urban and religious centers and a communication network consisting of countless paths and passages through the mountains; The Machu Picchu site was designated at the same time with the idea of accommodating the high aristocracy of the Inca Empire, so this citadel presents the most precious architectural works by the Empire. Another reason for this settlement by the high social class also focuses on the fact that the geographical location of Machu Picchu was extremely important for the religion of civilization, since the mountain chain system that houses Machu Picchu had a great spiritual meaning to be considered as the sacred site where the astronomical study of constellations of stars and the sun, stars representing the deities of the Inca civilization would be practiced.
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