High in the Peruvian Andes are ancient ruins located near the headwaters of the Amazon River. In recent years, these ruins have seen an increase in tourist visitations. So what has caused the increase of people to a remote area in the eastern Andes above the Rio Urubamba? It is Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu the city built by the Inca during the 1400's, was brought to the world's attention by Hiram Bingham. This site contains numerous interesting objects the skillful Inca constructed from stone. After taking into account what is at Machu Picchu, one can see what lures hordes of individuals to this lost city in the mountains.

Machu Picchu was built after Pachacuti's conquest in the mid-1400's. Pachacuti's rise as Inca ruler became so after rallying the Inca forces. He then lead them to an unexpected victory over a invading rival group--the Chanca.

The Inca were surrounded by similar proto-states that were continuously vying for control of neighboring regions. One warlike group to the northwest of Cuzco, the Chanca, exerted such a pressure on the Inca that the aged King Viracocha, deciding it was fruitless to resist their

Meisch, Lynn Ann. "Protecting Heaven's Gate." Americas, July/August 1984, pp. 26-31.

The Incas were although well aware of the seasons and equinoxes. Felipe Guaman Poma pointed out that the Incas knew the moon was closer than the sun and also paid special attention to eclipses.

These clearly show the human effort that must have been required, to transport and erect them in their present positions. Even though these are so extraordinarily large, they are cut with amazing skill. They are elegant, and so finely positioned against one another, without mortar, that the joints are scarcely visible. With the rusticated, polygonal walls, I can assure you that although they may appear rougher than walls of (coursed) ashlars, they seem to me to have been far more difficult to make. For, not being cut straight (apart form the outer face which was as smooth as on ashlars), and yet being so tightly joined to on another, one can well appreciate the amount of work involved in having them interlock in the way we see. Some are large and others small and both sorts are irregular in shape and structure; but they are still positioned with joints as delicate as those of coursed ashlars. Thus, if the top of one stone makes a curve or point there is a corresponding groove or cavity in the stone above that fits exactly into the other. Some stones have many angles and indentations all round their sides; but the stones they meet are cut in such a way they interlock perfectly. Such a work must have been immensely laborious! To interlock the stones against each other, it must have been necessary to remove and replace them repeatedly to test them. And being of such great size, it is obvious how much suffering must have been involved!

Hemming, John. Machu Picchu (Wonders of Man). New York: Newsweek, 1981.

Bingham, Alfred M. "Raiders of the Lost City." American Heritage, July/August 1987, pp. 54-64.

Even after the death of Hiram Bingham in 1956, Machu Picchu has continued to fascinate numerous scholars and tourists. The Incas were very much like the Romans. They were soldiers, engineers, and administrators. The one area the Incas excelled in most was stone masonry. A chronicler, Bernabe Cobo describes the mason work of the Inca:

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