The Fall and Rise of Machu Picchu

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The Fall and Rise of Machu Picchu
the Inca city is now reachable by train and bus but many visitors prefer to hike the Inca trail and enter through the Sun Gate

Standing 7,970 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains of Peru, the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu is probably among the most recognized and celebrated archaeological sites in the world. Its fame is not simply a result of its breathtaking (quite literally) location and stunning views but the remarkable story of its role at the time of the Spanish conquest. As the Inca empire fell, Machu Picchu was abandoned and, as a consequence, never found, occupied or destroyed. The forest covered the city and, when it was uncovered in 1911, a stunningly preserved example of the mastery of Inca architecture was revealed. Machu Picchu now stands as a testament to the skill and complexity of indigenous civilizations in the Americas.

the path to the sun gate, or Intipunku, is where the Inca Trail finishes
the Inca city is now reachable by train and bus but many visitors prefer to hike the Inca trail and enter through the Sun Gate
a variety of crops including potatoes, maize and chili peppers were grown in these terraces- the Inca farming terraces in the surrounding Sacred Valley were used into the past decade when the government stopped local farmers from growing on them
the sun shines through the window in the Temple of the Sun from the Sun Gate
looking up from the room thought to be for music because of its superior acoustic design
because the Spanish never found the Inca city, the buildings, walls and terraces are intact leaving little to the archaeologists’ imagination
the Inca water system is one of the most celebrated and studied in the world- water still flows through the ancient channels today
one of earliest of toilets- near the temple and thought to for use by the priests
increasingly, tourists to Machu Picchu come from within Peru- here a group of Quechua students learn about their heritage

Kristina Baines is our resident cool anthropologist. She’s been formally trained in applied, sociocultural, ecological and medical anthropology at Florida Atlantic University (BA, MA), the University of Oxford (MSc) and the University of South Florida (PhD). She has a strong interest in corn, how what we do in our environment makes us well, and using innovative methods to make anthropology relevant and accessible to a wide audience. You can find out more about how these interests translate into projects and pursuits by perusing the rest of our site, or you can contact her directly at kristina@coolanthropology.com

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