Machu Picchu.

The Inca were a small highland culture who established their rule in the valley of Cuzco in central Peru. The city of Cuzco became their capital, and by 1350 the Inca control had extended into the area immediately east of Cuzco, as well as beyond the valley to areas near Lake Titicaca in the south and northward to the Upper Urubamba River. By 1450, the Inca Empire stretched 3000 miles from Quito in present-day Ecuador to central Chile.

The Inca were highly organized in regulating their empire. Although they did not have a system of writing, the Inca used symbols and diagrams for record keeping. Goldsmithing was an Inca specialty, but their finest achievements were in architecture. Their building techniques were as sophisticated as the ancient Egyptians. They constructed buildings of stone blocks so precisely cut, they fit together without the need for mortar. The finishing of the ashlar blocks was so precise that the smooth curved walls looked as if they had been mold-formed of cement.

The spectacular city of Machu Picchu was constructed at an elevation of 3000 meters in the Andes Mountains. Located on a plateau between two peaks, it was constructed by the ruler Pachacuti Inca as a royal estate and religious retreat. The many structures were meant to house the numerous workers who were caretakers of the site. The city was abandoned and forgotten after 1527, following the death of Pachacuti Inca's successor, Huayna Capac, from smallpox (introduced by the Spanish invaders). By the time the Spanish had conquered Cuzco and other Inca cities in 1532, landslides had destroyed the road leading to Machu Picchu. It was rediscovered in 1911 by American archaeologists.

Questions

Why do you think this high elevation was chosen for a think you would feel if you discovered something like this for nearly 400 years? Would you like to visit this place? Why?

Karl Cole is curator of Davis Art slides, a division of Davis Publications, Inc. in Worcester, Massachusetts.