The ancient city of Machu Picchu is located in Peru, a South American country. It is located in a mysterious region between the Andes Mountains and the Amazon forests, at an altitude of approximately 2450 meters above sea level. The ancient city, one of the 7 wonders of the world, is under protection.
The ancient city of Machu Picchu was built in a very difficult place to reach. The city, which is located on the summit of the mountain, which has almost no flat places, has managed to survive against events such as severe earthquakes, rain and wind for 600 years.
It is a giant abandoned city like no other at the top of the mountains. Despite being circulated as a legend and even being researched by many explorers, no one has stepped in here for 350 years. Why did they build such a city at a height of 2450 meters above the ground? What caused the people who lived there to disappear in a short time? It is among the topics that have been researched for many years.
Who Found the City of Machu Picchu?
In 1911, the American explorer Hiram Bingham came to the lands of South America in pursuit of the legendary city. Although many researchers searched the region for years for the same purpose before him, no traces were found. Even the Spaniards came here as invaders and seized the whole country. But they could not find the city of Machu Picchu next to them. Explorer Hiram Bingham managed to reach the city after a long struggle.
The city is interestingly unspoiled. It looks like a place where people still live. So much so that when it was discovered, the Peruvian people, even the Peruvian president, could not believe that the lost city was real. The city and its surroundings have been registered as a sanctuary by the Peruvian state. Airplanes are prohibited from flying over this city, according to international law.
The Secret Life of the Inca Civilization Living in the City:
It is still not known exactly how the Incas, a South American people, built this city. The Incas are a people who started to be seen in the Andes in the 12th century and there is not much information about them. Over time, they strengthened and formed the Inca civilization. The wheel has never been used in that area. They do not have writings, they did not use money. Riding animals such as horses do not exist in the Americas anyway. Despite this, the works they built are unique in the history of humanity.
How they brought the rocks they carried while building Machu Picchu at an altitude of 2450 meters is still a mystery. Pure manpower must have been used. They were able to organize large organizations without using money. The most important reason for this is their lifestyle based on social division of labor.
Every ten families would get together and choose one manager from among them. This manager would be subordinate to a top manager. At the top of the pyramid is the emperor, who is considered a demigod. Instead of paying or receiving money for social work, people give a portion of their products to the government. In the state, he created the city system in which the people could continue their lives, established water systems and protected them.
It is very difficult to farm in the high cities of the Andes. Weather conditions and cold did not allow this. They have specially prepared circles with stones, each of which can retain heat, and each layer has a different temperature and humidity. In this way, they had the opportunity to grow a separate agricultural product in each flat.
The Incas have a religion similar to Shamanism. The god worshiped in this religion is the sun god. They defined their emperor, whom they saw as the embodied representative of this god, as the son of the sun. This definition bears an interesting resemblance to the ancient Egyptian civilization. In recent years, mysterious mummies were found during excavations at the summit of a 6737-meter volcano in Argentina. It has been determined that 3 mummies aged between 6 and 14 were used in a human sacrifice ceremony here 500 years ago.
The main purpose is to prove the loyalty of the people to the newly ascended emperor. Although human sacrifice is not very common among the Incas, it is a ritual seen at important turning points. The ceremony was held in high places and closer to the sun. Because the sun is very sacred to the Incas. This is why it was built so high in cities like Machu Picchu.
How the People of Machu Picchu Disappeared?
The Inca civilization disappeared in almost 10 years. In fact, the extinction began when the Spanish set foot on these lands. In 1530, the Spaniards came to the Inca lands. The Spaniards brought smallpox with them. The peoples of the Americas have no immunity to this disease. Indeed, within a few years, the disease spread rapidly. It has reached the city of Machu Picchu, which is far from everyone on the top of the mountains. The city has become stricken with this cursed disease, and people have had to migrate from there and go away from the disease. At the end of that century, the Inca country with a population of 14 million had decreased to only 1 million.
The Spanish invaders were also following a rumor they had heard. They were looking for a mysterious city at the top of the mountains filled with gold. Despite chasing after this legend for more than 100 years, they were never found. It is the city of Machu Picchu, which was not found until 1911.
Today, this city is still considered sacred by the locals. Many people pour food such as milk and food into temples and tombs here. The Inca solar ritual, a worship of thousands of years, is still performed there every year. In short, although the city was forgotten for 350 years, today it has turned into a mystical point where rituals from thousands of years ago continue. But its secrets are not fully understood. Maybe years later, if the studies are completed, it will be possible to understand how they achieved engineering marvels and how they turned into one of the greatest civilizations in history.
