Machu Picchu: Conjecture, Speculation, Assumptions, Imaginings, Guesses, and Suppositions

It was a fine morning at Machu Picchu.  Emperor Huayna Capac sat at the breakfast table, coffee cup in hand, deeply immersed in his Inca World News.  His favorite son, Atahualpa, sat across the table spooning down a huge bowlful of Frosted Quinoa Flakes.  The emperor’s son Huáscar, heir to the realm, stood across the room humming loudly, his back to his father and his head buried in the recesses of a storage niche.  Huáscar stopped humming and turned to give his father a somewhat unfocused look.  “Father, when I hum in the storage niche, I can hear the sound of Mother Earth humming back to me.”  Atahualpa made a choking sound and rolled his eyes, “Hey, Pops, I think Huáscie’s been hitting too hard on the coca leaves again.”  Huayna Capac stifled a smirk.  “Ata, you need to respect your brother.  Now, listen, I’m going to round up a retinue and go consult with the priests about the Spring Planting Festival, then I’m going to head down to the Temple of the Condor.  You can come along if you would like.  Atahualpa eagerly followed his farther outside.  “Wow, Pops!  Way cool!  Hey! When we get to the temple, can I pet the condors?”  Huayna Capac laughed.  “Ata, your enthusiasm amuses me, but the condors can be very unpredictable and dangerous.  Let me show you what I mean.  He stretched out his arms and abruptly shape-shifted into a condor.  Then he flapped his wings until he was airborne.  He circled once, then serenely glided off toward the alien saucer hovering on the horizon.  

You’re probably wondering if this travel blog has been reassigned to the sci-fi channel.  Actually, I’m merely conjecturing about Incan life at Machu Picchu.  If my conjecture is a little on the edge of fantastic, let me assure you that it’s on par with some of the stuff that’s out there.  But my point is that everything that anybody has ever said about Machu Picchu is only conjecture, speculation, assumptions, imaginings, guesses, and suppositions.

By the time Hiram Bingham brought Machu Picchu to the world’s attention, the last person who had ever lived there had been dead for hundreds of years. There was nobody left to remember why Machu Picchu was built or what its purpose was.  And there was nobody left to remember the real function of any of its structures.  The names we use for its buildings were all made up by Hiram Bingham or those who came after him – their real names and functions are lost forever.  Mainstream archaeologists have made solid educated guesses about the function of many of the buildings based on their method of construction, the artifacts found within them, and their form.  Large, roughly constructed buildings with lots of sunlight likely were workshops.  Smaller enclosures with no windows were perhaps animal barns, or maybe prison cells. Some structures closely aligned with the path of the sun and other Inca sites probably functioned to determine the time of year and no doubt also had a religious/ceremonial function.

Archaeologists realize that this is a labor of best guesses.  The descriptions of the function of Machu Picchu and its structures range from these logical deductions by mainstream academics downward to the pet theories of amateur sleuths that are mostly devoid of any factual support, and further down to the wild-eyed fantasies of kooks who don’t understand the science of archaeology but who nevertheless are quite competent at writing books and creating websites.  It is in these websites and books that one is likely to see terms like “aliens”, “portals”, and “energy fields”.  (As in “When I stretched out my hand I could feel the primal energy field of the Intihuatana!”  My response, “Um, yeah, of course you can feel the energy.  The Intihuatana is a massive rock that‘s been sitting in the sun all day.  That energy is called ‘radiated heat’.”)

On this day, we find ourselves crawling out of bed before four AM.  Emilio has told us that it is important to be on the first bus up the mountain to have best experience.  The ruins have become cursed by their own popularity and are usually tourist-infested beyond reason by mid-day.  I feel dazed – this is the fourth night out of the last five when we’ve had five hours of sleep or less.  This morning I’ve finally hit a wall.  My eyes seem gummed shut, everything sounds muffled, my mouth is dry, and there is a cracked, tingling sensation that creeps down my throat every time I swallow – all the early signs of a cold.  Nevertheless, we repack our backpacks and stumble down to the hotel lobby to check out.  While the hotel normally provides breakfast, we are checking out long before the dining room will open so we don’t have any illusions that we will get breakfast.  So we’re very pleasantly surprised when the desk clerk proffers three brown paper bags for us:  Breakfast to go in a bag!

The stop for the buses that will be driving the Hiram Bingham Highway up the mountain is practically right outside our hotel, so we don’t have to walk far to find the queue.  And there is indeed a queue already at 4:30 AM.  A long queue.  But then we see that Emilio is in line holding a place for us.  He says he has been there since 3:30 AM.  Emilio is amazing.  So then we stand in line and eat our bag breakfasts and wait to board the bus that will take us up the mountain to spend a day among these stupendous ruins.  I’m getting a cold but life is good. 

We board the bus in the dark around 5:15 AM and watch the sun rise during our half-hour trip up the mountain.   When we reach the top, the gates are still closed and a crowd begins to form as buses continue to arrive.  When the gates finally open, the crowd from the first several buses moves en masse through the gates and then fans out once inside.  Having spent some time on the higher levels the day before, we now follow Emilio to the lower levels.  Emilio takes us through the ruins for the rest of the morning and shows us the important features and describes their structure while providing us with his conjectures, speculation, assumptions, imaginings, guesses, and suppositions regarding their function. 

Our tour includes:

The upper and lower class residential districts:  In addition to the agricultural terraces and the large public areas, there are areas that appear to have been residences.  Scientists have speculated that there are upper and lower class districts.  This makes sense since the finely crafted, tightly fitted stone masonry used to construct one section is of a higher quality than the rougher, mortared technique used in the other one. 

The Guardhouse:  A three-sided prominent building high on the upper slopes of the compound.  Its structure and location would suggest a guardhouse.  Is that the purpose it really served?  Speculation, conjecture, etc. 

The Guardhouse Sits Atop Terraces

 The Torreon:   The Torreon or The Temple of the Sun, is built upon and encircles a large granite rock that is a natural part of the mountain.  One may speculate and assume that this building served a ceremonial/religious function.   On the day of the winter solstice, the sun shines through the central window directly onto the large central rock. 

The Torreon With its Curved Wall Surrounds a Large Natural Rock

 Mirror basins:  One room in the Temple of the Sun contains two basins sculpted out of solid rock.  Some have suggested that these represent the “eyes of the Earth Mother”.  Others suggest that when filled with water, these shallow basins become excellent mirrors.  Did Inca Pachacutec use these when he would shave in the morning?  Were they mirrors for observing the sun or the stars in the night sky?  Speculation, conjecture, etc. 

Were These Water Basins Used For Mirrors?

 The Mausoleum: The Mausoleum or Royal Tomb is a natural opening directly under the Torreon that has been enlarged by hand carving a large amount of solid rock.  Hiram Bingham speculated that this was the tomb of the Inca Pachacutec, the emperor who built Machu Picchu.  Others have suggested that it was a burial place for many members of the royal family while yet others suggest that it was not a burial place at all.

Was This Enlarged Cave Beneath the Torreon a Royal Mausoleum?

 Temple of the Condor:  While function is only speculation and assumption, this structure seems incredibly obvious.  The shape of the natural rock suggests wings and that suggestion has been enhanced by the addition of a delicately hand-carved head below the wings.  It is obviously a bird, and one would naturally assume it is a condor, since the condor was one of the Incas’ sacred animals.  Under the temple is a cave and behind the temple is a structure that contains a number of small niches, each large enough to hold a human.  Incan prisons were documented to have exactly this sort of configuration – prisoners were shackled in the niches for days while awaiting their fate, which could potentially be death.  Did the carved condor’s head function as a sacrificial alter?  Did the dead prisoners become food for condors kept on site?  Speculation and conjecture, etc. 

Above:  Natural Rocks Form Condor's Wings
Below:  The Sculpted Head of the Condor

 

The Intihuatana:  Many Inca sites contain stones similar to the one found at Machu Picchu, although most of the other ones are not intact because they were destroyed by the Spanish who felt they were pagan idols.  The word “intihuatana”, while Quechua in origin, may have been applied to these structures by Hiram Bingham.  The literal translation is “an instrument to tie up the sun.” Or more commonly, “The Hitching Post of the Sun”.  While we can only speculate regarding the religious significance of the Intihuatana to the Incas, we can make this very concrete observation regarding it:  At noon on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, the sun is perfectly above the stone pillar, and the pillar casts no shadow.  On June 21^st the pillar casts a long shadow directly to the south, and on December 21^st it casts a short shadow directly north.  The Incas have constructed a perfect sundial to divide the seasons! 

The Intihuatana:  A Seasonal Calendar

 The Temple of the Three Windows:  The high quality of the stonework suggests that this building was indeed a temple and the three large trapezoidal windows give the building its name.  One website I perused suggests that the three windows are highly symbolic of the three children of the creator god Viracocha who, according to Inca legend, stepped through holes in the earth near Lake Titicaca.  This same website goes on to speculate that these children of Viracocha were actually aliens from another dimension and the “holes” were in fact wormholes through space and time.  There is evidence that this structure once contained five windows but that only three remain.  So there you go. 

Above:  The Temple of the Three Windows
Below:  The Temple of the Three Windows from inside

Echoing niches:  A popular activity for tourists is for them to stick their heads into the niches built into the stone walls and hum or sing.  These niches do produce interesting echoes and reverberations.  Were they constructed to do that or are they merely for storage and display?  I have noted interesting echoes and reverberations when I have put my head in a barrel and hummed.  Did the Incas ever put their heads in these niches and hum?  Speculation, conjecture, etc.

Above: Since Machu Picchu is Built on a Mountain, It Contains Over 3,000 Steps Linking Its Many Different Levels
Below:  Some Steps Are Carved from Solid Rock 

 After showing us around Machu Picchu for most of the morning Emilio abruptly announces that it is time for him to leave us.  We thank him for his services and bid him farewell.  Emilio really was a great guide.  He understood our limitations on the trail and slowed his pace to accommodate us without making us feel too foolish.  He also seemed to possess an all-encompassing knowledge of the Incas and Machu Picchu.  There are probably a gazillion wonderful guides in Peru, but if you are planning a trip, you won't go wrong if you book through Pachamama Explorers and ask for Emilio.

After he leaves, we find a grassy spot in the residential sector of the ruins and Madeline lies on the grass and naps in an attempt to make amends for our shredded sleep schedule.  Kathy pulls out her pad and starts to sketch.  I wander off with my camera, find some chinchillas among the ruins and get some shots of these fascinating little creatures.  Then I get way into the llamas that are allowed to wander among the ruins to keep the grass trimmed – the group of llamas includes a baby who is tiny, woolly, photogenic, and basically too cute for words.  As I’m going down a set of steps to get a shot of the group of llamas on the plaza, I hear a shrill whistle and turn to notice a uniformed guard blowing his whistle and gesticulating at me.  I apparently am wandering into a section where I’m not allowed.  I shrug and start back up the steps toward the guard.  When I climb past a path that intersects the steps, he starts whistling and gesticulating again.  He points to a small “Salida” sign by the path.  Apparently he’s telling me I have to leave.  The spot where I’m standing is probably a good ten-minute’s walk to the exit.  I point in the other direction past him and tell him that’s the way I want to go.  Nope.  He is quite firm that I have to leave.  Apparently this exit path is one-way and going the other way would be criminal behavior.  “But my wife and daughter are back there!” I explain to him.  Nope.  No dice.  He makes a circuitous gesture with his arm.  I apparently am required to make the ten-minute trip to the exit and then re-enter. Well, since he seemingly has no English, and since I have no Spanish there is no arguing with him.  So I walk to the exit and then re-enter.  There is also the possibility that he is throwing me out permanently because he thinks I’m a trouble-maker – either situation could be the case and my confusion is complete.  But twenty minutes later I’m back practically in the same spot and chatting with a couple of Australian ladies who’ve asked me to take their picture when along comes my guard, who gives me a big smile and saunters on past.  So obviously he is fine with me leaving and re-entering.  Has he just been messing with me?  Speculation, conjecture, etc.

Chinchillas

Above and Below:  Llamas

I rejoin Kathy and Madeline and take my own short nap among the ruins.  Then we walk to the exit.  We’re all ready for some refreshments at the small café just outside the gate.  There’s only the one café on top of the mountain and it’s crowded.  Fortunately, we find a small table right by the long queue that snakes out the door and a bit down the road.  As we enjoy our snacks and chat, a woman comes up and asks Madeline in German if she speaks German.  Madeline is very surprised since we are conversing in English, but replies in German that she does speak German.  Such a strange and random question!  The woman explains that she was standing in line for the café with her daughter and husband, noticed that we are about done, and hoped to nab our table.  She had also decided that Madeline was a native German speaker since she sounded as though she was speaking English with a German accent!  We tell the German lady that we are more than happy for her to have our table, so the couple continue to hold their place in the line but plant their teenage daughter at our table as insurance.  We have a nice conversation with the daughter who speaks good English and is apparently also fluent in several other languages.  She tells us that her parents are dentists and come to Peru on a regular basis to work at a rural clinic.  When the German dentists arrive at our table, we give it up to them and go to find a bus down the mountain.

Before getting on the bus, I turn to get one final glance of Machu Picchu and wonder if the timeline of my life will play out in such a way that I will ever find my way back to this unique spot.  The future doesn’t look bright for these ruins.  First, there are two nearby fault lines. Then, Machu Picchu is too famous and too popular.  The pressure placed on it by the number of daily visitors is tremendous.  And the number of visitors has skyrocketed in the last twenty years as Peru’s economy and political situation have stabilized.  Additionally, the stewardship of this site by the government has not always been completely responsible.  A good example: In 2000 a crane smashed into the Intihuatana and broke a chip from it while a US ad agency was filming a commercial for a Peruvian beer.  

Tourist Infested Ruins

In the mid-1990’s, two landslides occurred on the Hiram Bingham Highway and some geologists worry that a landslide could send the ruins plunging from the mountaintop into the Urubamba River.  A concession that would allow the construction of a cable car that would carry tourists to the mountaintop was awarded by the Peruvian government in 1998, but fortunately was subsequently cancelled in 2001 when it was determined that the cable would sit atop one of the most unstable regions and that the vibration from the cars could trigger landslides. 

Machu Picchu is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites – those places that are considered to be the most important areas in the world because of their exceptional cultural or natural significance.  In recent decades there has been sporadic discussion of placing it on the “World Heritage Site in Danger” list.  Sites are considered in danger if they are significantly deteriorating due to human activity or changes in climate, geology, or environment.  Finally in the early 2000’s Peru’s government got serious about saving Machu Picchu and the area around it.  Steps were taken to deal with garbage, sewage, and Inca Trail maintenance.  And limits were placed on the number of tourists.  However, many feel that the current limit of 2500 visitors per day is not sustainable without damaging the site.  It is ironic that Machu Picchu was neither found nor destroyed by the Spanish but it may be destroyed by the tourists.  Perhaps future regulations to protect the site will mean that tourists will no longer able to enjoy them the way we have this day – to walk among them, on the very paving stones placed by the Incas, and even to lie down and doze within their walls.  But if these regulations protect this unique and beautiful site for future generations then it is important that they be enacted.

We get off the bus in Aguas Calientes early in the afternoon and then wait until after four to catch the Vistadome back to Ollantaytambo.  Once I’m comfortably situated on the train, I fall into an exhausted sleep.  I don’t wake up until we are nearly to the Ollantaytambo station.  Kathy and Madeline report that I have slept through a bizarrely amusing fashion show staged by the train attendants that included somebody costumed as a “devil spirit” prancing up and down the aisles.  After the show the alpaca woolens that had been shown were available for sale to the passengers.  They were nice but quite expensive, Kathy reports.

Once we are off the train at Ollantaytambo, the driver provided by Pachamama Explorers meets us and drives us back to Cusco.  He is very friendly and talkative and we learn quite a bit about the upcoming Peruvian elections and recent political history in Peru.  He also stops the car so we can try to get a good look at the Southern Cross away from the city lights, but it isn’t a good night for star observation due to clouds.

We get back to our hotel in the early evening and Kathy and Madeline go off in search of a restaurant for dinner.  I go directly to bed, feeling tired and fog-brained perhaps because of my long nap on the train but more likely due to my developing cold.  They get back around nine, bearing water and Kleenex, which is exactly what I want and need.  Then we spend the next hour packing for our trip into the rain forest and finally crawl into bed at 10:30, knowing that once again morning will come much too early.