By: Emily Marshall

The Incas They had a huge empire with 9 million people in it coming from 100 different ethnic groups The Incas believed they were children of the sun They required that their subjects worship the state religion but allowed them to continue with their own beliefs as well The Incas also took the myths and legends of all the other religions of the different ethnic groups and altered them to fit in with their beliefs They worshipped the sun as well as the moon, clouds, mountains, etcetera m/watch?v=P2YBVlgqqc o&feature=player_embe dded

A Royal Estate Machu Picchu was built as a royal estate Although it was a royal estate artisans and priests lived there as well as the Inca Royals It was also a center of commerce and trade

Peru Machu Picchu is located on a mountain top in the Andes Mountains It is in the Urubamba Valley The mountain it is built on is surrounded by the Urubamba River on three sides It is 6,000 feet above sea level

Machu Picchu was built c. 1400’s A.D. When the Incas abandoned it, it was still in the process of being built It was found in 1911 by the Yale Professor Hiram Bingham Hiram Bingham

It is believed Machu Picchu was built as a quite place for King Pachakuti to go to get away from the noisiness of the capital Cuzco They believe Pachakuti had it built as a royal retreat They also believe the location was picked because the Urubamba River almost makes a complete loop around the mountain All of the necessary resources needed to support a large number of people were accessible

There is little known about how Machu Picchu was built We know that the stones were cut on site They were cut to fit together perfectly like a puzzle How they cut the stones is unknown How they moved the stones is unknown

In the past it is believed that Machu Picchu (which was called Picchu at the time) was used as a center of commerce and trade as well as a retreat for the Inca Royals Believed to be a self contained, sufficient civilization A Intihuatana stone was found in the city The stone is believed to have astronomical and religious purposes that relate to the sun The city is thought to have had ceremonial purposes Not much is known about their social or religious practices

Machu Picchu is now a popular tourist site Tens of thousands of people visit there every year The tourists take either the train or take a four day hike on the Inca trail to get to Machu Picchu

The ruins of Machu Picchu bring tourism to the country It also creates jobs for those who live near the area where the travelers begin Without the help of tourism produced by Machu Picchu, Peru would lose $1million per day and 15,000 people would be out of work

Richard L, Burger, Lucy C, Salazar. Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. Italy: Granfiche SiZ, 2004 Stefoff, Rebecca. Finding the Lost Cities. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997