1. Archaeological Sites of the Incans Cultures – Unit 3: South America Section 1: History, Geography and Government

2. CUZCO – capital city of the Inca – Was constructed in the form of a giant puma: – The body of the puma contained the palaces, temples and government buildings; the head of the puma was the fortress of Sacsahuaman.

3. – Recently, researchers have found many tunnels under the city, and some think that maybe there's another city beneath Cuzco.

4. EL DORADO – IS A STORY/MYTH – WHAT WAS IT?

5. “El Dorado” wasn’t a myth! – A curious fact about Cuzco is that the idea of "El Dorado" was not a myth - in the Sun Temple and the Temple of Koricancha, which means "courtyard of gold" in Quechua, was a temple to worship the god Inti (the sun) Killa (moon), and Koyllur (stars). – In the temple, there had been some walls that were covered in gold; in the gardens there were plants made of gold and jewels.

6. “El Dorado” – When the Spaniards arrived, they described Cuzco as a rich and beautiful place full of gold, beginning the myth of "El Dorado". – Today, the temple is covered with a church but you can still see the stones of the Sun Temple.

7. Sacsahuaman – This fortress is enormous and interesting. – The name ‘Sacsahuaman’ means ‘satisfied falcon’ in quechua. – It is located north of Cuzco

8. – There is a series of platforms with zig zag walls, made of huge boulders. – After the Spanish conquered the Incas, they removed many of the boulders. So what we see today is only a small amount of what it was in the past. – Also, this area is where the bloody battle between the Spanish and the Inca occurred. – The fortress of Sacsayhuaman was a place to protect citizens; it was a safe place to go in case of an attack.

9. Sacsahuaman – And a curious fact: when the first European visitors came to the fortress, they thought that the earth was inhabited by giants because the walls were so big.

10. – Machu Picchu, which means Old Mountain in Quechua, is one of the new seven wonders of the world. – It is a city built on a hill above the Urubamba River northwest of the city of Cuzco.

11. Machu Picchu – It was "discovered" by Hiram Bingham in the year 1911 and some say it was not a spiritual place but a royal palace or a royal retreat for the Emperor Pachacuti. – There are two districts or areas in Machu Picchu - the Agriculture and the District Urban District.

12. El Distrito Agricultura – In the Agricultural District, there are many terraces that were used to grow crops and halt erosion caused by rain. – Also, this district includes buildings and simple houses. – Terracess – Reserves buildings – Simple houses

13. Distrito Urbano: el Templo con Tres Ventanas el Intihuatana el Templo del Sol In the Urban District, three sacred sites: The Intihuatana is a sundial, the Sun Temple and the Temple with three windows.

14. Las Piedras Perfectas – What is very interesting about Machu Picchu is that the Incas built walls without using mortar (glue). – All the stones were carved to fit each other perfectly!

15. http://www.mp360.com/ Go "visit" Machu Picchu with this website - and when you enter the site, it is as if you were there.

16. – In all, the Incas had many archaeological sites, but three of the most famous sites were: – the city of Cuzco and the myth of "El Dorado" – the Sacsayhuaman fortress - with giant-sized walls – and Machu Picchu - the lost city in the clouds