sacred city of Machu Picchu
The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top (9060 feet elevation), erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small (5 square miles) but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba river, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortarless joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade. Little is known of the social or religious use of the site during Inca times. The skeletal remains of ten females to one male had led to the casual assumption that the site may have been a sanctuary for the training of priestesses and /or brides for the Inca nobility. However, subsequent osteological examination of the bones revealed an equal number of male bones, thereby indicating that Machu Picchu was not exclusively a temple or dwelling place of women.
One of Machu Picchu's primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods. The Intihuatana (also called the Saywa or Sukhanka stone) is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes, not at the solstice (as is stated in some tourist literature and new-age books). At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun "sits with all his might upon the pillar" and is for a moment "tied" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky. There is also an Intihuatana alignment with the December solstice (the summer solstice of the southern hemisphere), when at sunset the sun sinks behind Pumasillo (the Puma's claw), the most sacred mountain of the western Vilcabamba range, but the shrine itself is primarily equinoctial.
Shamanic legends say that when sensitive persons touch their foreheads to the stone, the Intihuatana opens one's vision to the spirit world (the author had such an experience, which is described in detail in Chapter one of Places of Peace and Power, on the web site, www.sacredsites.com). Intihuatana stones were the supremely sacred objects of the Inca people and were systematically searched for and destroyed by the Spaniards. When the Intihuatana stone was broken at an Inca shrine, the Inca believed that the deities of the place died or departed. The Spaniards never found Machu Picchu, even though they suspected its existence, thus the Intihuatana stone and its resident spirits remain in their original position. The mountain top sanctuary fell into disuse and was abandoned some forty years after the Spanish took Cuzco in 1533. Supply lines linking the many Inca social centers were disrupted and the great empire came to an end. The photograph shows the ruins of Machu Picchu in the foreground with the sacred peak of Wayna Picchu towering behind. Partway down the northern side of Wayna Picchu is the so-called "Temple of the Moon" inside a cavern. As with the ruins of Machu Picchu, there is no archaeological or iconographical evidence to substantiate the 'new-age' assumption that this cave was a goddess site.
jueves, 20 de agosto de 2009
about Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a city located high in the Andes Mountains in modern Peru. It lies 43 miles northwest of Cuzco at the top of a ridge, hiding it from the Urabamba gorge below. The ridge is between a block of highland and the massive Huaynac Picchu, around which the Urubamba River takes a sharp bend. The surrounding area is covered in dense bush, some of it covering Pre-Colombian cultivation terraces.
Machu Picchu (which means "Old Peak") was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler. The city has an altitude of 8,000 feet, and is high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest, so it likely did not have any administrative, military or commercial use. After Pachacuti’s death, Machu Picchu became the property of his allus, or kinship group, which was responsible for it’s maintenance, administration, and any new construction.
Machu Picchu is comprised of approximately 200 buildings, most being residences, although there are temples, storage structures and other public buildings. It has polygonal masonry, characteristic of the late Inca period.
About 1,200 people lived in and around Machu Picchu, most of them women, children, and priests. The buildings are thought to have been planned and built under the supervision of professional Inca architects. Most of the structures are built of granite blocks cut with bronze or stone tools, and smoothed with sand. The blocks fit together perfectly without mortar, although none of the blocks are the same size and have many faces; some have as many as 30 corners. The joints are so tight that even the thinnest of knife blades can't be forced between the stones. Another unique thing about Machu Picchu is the integration of the architecture into the landscape. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through cisterns and stone channels, and temples hang on steep precipices.
The houses had steep thatched roofs and trapezoidal doors; windows were unusual. Some of the houses were two stories tall; the second story was probably reached by ladder, which likely was made of rope since there weren’t many trees at Machu Picchu’s altitude. The houses, in groups of up to ten gathered around a communal courtyard, or aligned on narrow terraces, were connected by narrow alleys. At the center were large open squares; livestock enclosures and terraces for growing maize stretched around the edge of the city.
The Incas planted crops such as potatoes and maize at Machu Picchu. To get the highest yield possible, they used advanced terracing and irrigation methods to reduce erosion and increase the area available for cultivation. However, it probably did not produce a large enough surplus to export agricultural products to Cuzco, the Incan capital.
One of the most important things found at Machu Picchu is the intihuatana, which is a column of stone rising from a block of stone the size of a grand piano. Intihuatana literally means ‘for tying the sun", although it is usually translated as "hitching post of the sun". As the winter solstice approached, when the sun seemed to disappear more each day, a priest would hold a ceremony to tie the sun to the stone to prevent the sun from disappearing altogether. The other intihuatanas were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, but because the Spanish never found Machu Picchu, it remained intact. Mummies have also been found there; most of the mummies were women.
Few people outside the Inca’s closest retainers were actually aware of Machu Picchu’s existence. Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the smallpox spread ahead of them. Fifty percent of the population had been killed by the disease by 1527. The government began to fail, part of the empire seceded and it fell into civil war. So by the time Pizarro, the Inca’s conquerer, arrived in Cuzco in 1532, Machu Picchu was already forgotten.
View of the Machu Picchu ruins and Huaynu Picchu, the peak on the right, from the agricultural terraces. The small center peak is the location of the Intihuatana. The plaza area is in its foreground.
Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, a professor from Yale. Bingham was searching for Vilcabamba, which was the undiscovered last stronghold of the Incan empire. When he stumbled upon Machu Picchu, he thought he had found it, although now most scholars believe that Machu Picchu is not Vilcabamba. Machu Picchu was never completely forgotten, as a few people still lived in the area, where they were "free from undesirable visitors, officials looking for army ‘volunteers’ or collecting taxes", as they told Bingham
Machu Picchu (which means "Old Peak") was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler. The city has an altitude of 8,000 feet, and is high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest, so it likely did not have any administrative, military or commercial use. After Pachacuti’s death, Machu Picchu became the property of his allus, or kinship group, which was responsible for it’s maintenance, administration, and any new construction.
Machu Picchu is comprised of approximately 200 buildings, most being residences, although there are temples, storage structures and other public buildings. It has polygonal masonry, characteristic of the late Inca period.
About 1,200 people lived in and around Machu Picchu, most of them women, children, and priests. The buildings are thought to have been planned and built under the supervision of professional Inca architects. Most of the structures are built of granite blocks cut with bronze or stone tools, and smoothed with sand. The blocks fit together perfectly without mortar, although none of the blocks are the same size and have many faces; some have as many as 30 corners. The joints are so tight that even the thinnest of knife blades can't be forced between the stones. Another unique thing about Machu Picchu is the integration of the architecture into the landscape. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through cisterns and stone channels, and temples hang on steep precipices.
The houses had steep thatched roofs and trapezoidal doors; windows were unusual. Some of the houses were two stories tall; the second story was probably reached by ladder, which likely was made of rope since there weren’t many trees at Machu Picchu’s altitude. The houses, in groups of up to ten gathered around a communal courtyard, or aligned on narrow terraces, were connected by narrow alleys. At the center were large open squares; livestock enclosures and terraces for growing maize stretched around the edge of the city.
The Incas planted crops such as potatoes and maize at Machu Picchu. To get the highest yield possible, they used advanced terracing and irrigation methods to reduce erosion and increase the area available for cultivation. However, it probably did not produce a large enough surplus to export agricultural products to Cuzco, the Incan capital.
One of the most important things found at Machu Picchu is the intihuatana, which is a column of stone rising from a block of stone the size of a grand piano. Intihuatana literally means ‘for tying the sun", although it is usually translated as "hitching post of the sun". As the winter solstice approached, when the sun seemed to disappear more each day, a priest would hold a ceremony to tie the sun to the stone to prevent the sun from disappearing altogether. The other intihuatanas were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, but because the Spanish never found Machu Picchu, it remained intact. Mummies have also been found there; most of the mummies were women.
Few people outside the Inca’s closest retainers were actually aware of Machu Picchu’s existence. Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the smallpox spread ahead of them. Fifty percent of the population had been killed by the disease by 1527. The government began to fail, part of the empire seceded and it fell into civil war. So by the time Pizarro, the Inca’s conquerer, arrived in Cuzco in 1532, Machu Picchu was already forgotten.
View of the Machu Picchu ruins and Huaynu Picchu, the peak on the right, from the agricultural terraces. The small center peak is the location of the Intihuatana. The plaza area is in its foreground.
Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, a professor from Yale. Bingham was searching for Vilcabamba, which was the undiscovered last stronghold of the Incan empire. When he stumbled upon Machu Picchu, he thought he had found it, although now most scholars believe that Machu Picchu is not Vilcabamba. Machu Picchu was never completely forgotten, as a few people still lived in the area, where they were "free from undesirable visitors, officials looking for army ‘volunteers’ or collecting taxes", as they told Bingham
martes, 28 de julio de 2009
Inti Raymi, Festival of the Sun
Inti Raymi, Festival of the Sun
Before the colonial Spaniards banned the ceremonial events occurring each Winter Solstices cusco, the native residents gathered to honor the Sun God, sacrifice an animal to ensure good crops and to pay homage to the Inca, as the first born Son of the Sun.
The ceremonies took place at the winter solstice, when the sun is farthest from the earth. Fearing the lack of sun and ensuing famine, the ancient Incas gathered in Cuzco to honor the Sun God and plead for his return. The celebrants fasted for days before the event, refrained from physical pleasures and presented gifts to the Inca, who in return put on a lavish banquet of meat, corn bread, chicha and coca tea as they prepared to sacrifice llamas to ensure good crops and fertile fields.
In 1572, Viceroy Toledo banned Inti Raymi celebrations as pagan and contrary to the Catholic faith. Following the edict, the ceremonies went underground.
Today, it's the second largest festival in South America. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Cuzco from other parts of the nation, South America and the world for a week long celebration marking the beginning of a new year, the Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun.
Every day has its events, from daytime expositions, street fairs, and people milling and dancing in the streets. In the evenings, live music from the best of Peruvian musical groups draws the crowds to the Plaza de Armas for free concerts. During the preceding year, in preparation for Inti Raymi, hundreds of actors are chosen to represent historical figures. Being selected to portray the Sapa Inca or his wife, Mama Occla, is a great honor.
The centerpiece of the festival is the all-day celebrations on June 24, the actual day of Inti Raymi. On this day, the ceremonial events begin with an invocation by the Sapa Inca in the Qorikancha, also spelled Koricancha (pictured) square in front of the Santo Domingo church, built over the ancient Temple of the Sun. Here, the Sapa Inca calls on the blessings from the sun. Following the oration, Sapa Inca is carried on a golden throne, a replica of the original which weighed about 60 kilos, in a procession to the ancient fortress saqsaywaman, in the hills above Cuzco. With the Sapa Inca come the high priests, garbed in ceremonial robes, then officials of the court, nobles and others, all elaborately costumed according to their rank, with silver and gold ornaments.
They walk along flower-bedecked streets, to music and prayers and dancing. Women sweep the streets to clear them of evil spirits. At Sacsayhuamán , where huge crowds await the arrival of the procession, Sapa Inca climbs to the sacred altar where all can see him.
Once all the celebrants are in place in the grand square of the fortress, there are speeches by Sapa Inca, the priests and representatives of the Suyos: the Snake for the world below, the Puma for life on earth, and the Condor for the upper world of the gods.
A white llama is sacrificed (now in a very realistic stage act) and the high priest holds aloft the bloody heart in honor of Pachamama. This is done to ensure the fertility of the earth which in combination with light and warmth from the sun provides a bountiful crop. The priests read the blood stains to see the future for the Inca.
As the sun begins to set, stacks of straw are set on fire and the celebrants dance around them to honor Tawantinsuty or the Empire of the Four Wind Directions. In ancient times, no fire was allowed that day until the evening fires.
The ceremony of Inti Raymi ends with a procession back to Cuzco. Sapa Inca and Mama Occla are carried on their thrones, the high priests and representatives of the Supas pronounce blessings on the people. Once again, a new year has begun.
June 24 is also celebrated throughout Peru as Indians Day or Peasants Day.
Things to know:
Inti Raymi is an all-day event, with at least five hours spent at Sacsayhuamán. Entry to the fortress is free, and rental chairs are available from booths around the main square. There are also food and drink vendors. There are no guard rails on the ruins and every year people are injured in falls. If you want a reserved seat, they are available with tickets bought in advance.
Lodgings are booked far in advance for the festival week. Hotels and restaurants do a booming business. While you are there, it may be difficult to get an unobstructed view of the Inca method of building using stones and no mortar, but buy a visitor ticket which is valid for ten days and gets you into fourteen important sites in Cuzco.
Tell us about your experiences! What not to miss, what to avoid and how to manage the crowds
Before the colonial Spaniards banned the ceremonial events occurring each Winter Solstices cusco, the native residents gathered to honor the Sun God, sacrifice an animal to ensure good crops and to pay homage to the Inca, as the first born Son of the Sun.
The ceremonies took place at the winter solstice, when the sun is farthest from the earth. Fearing the lack of sun and ensuing famine, the ancient Incas gathered in Cuzco to honor the Sun God and plead for his return. The celebrants fasted for days before the event, refrained from physical pleasures and presented gifts to the Inca, who in return put on a lavish banquet of meat, corn bread, chicha and coca tea as they prepared to sacrifice llamas to ensure good crops and fertile fields.
In 1572, Viceroy Toledo banned Inti Raymi celebrations as pagan and contrary to the Catholic faith. Following the edict, the ceremonies went underground.
Today, it's the second largest festival in South America. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Cuzco from other parts of the nation, South America and the world for a week long celebration marking the beginning of a new year, the Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun.
Every day has its events, from daytime expositions, street fairs, and people milling and dancing in the streets. In the evenings, live music from the best of Peruvian musical groups draws the crowds to the Plaza de Armas for free concerts. During the preceding year, in preparation for Inti Raymi, hundreds of actors are chosen to represent historical figures. Being selected to portray the Sapa Inca or his wife, Mama Occla, is a great honor.
The centerpiece of the festival is the all-day celebrations on June 24, the actual day of Inti Raymi. On this day, the ceremonial events begin with an invocation by the Sapa Inca in the Qorikancha, also spelled Koricancha (pictured) square in front of the Santo Domingo church, built over the ancient Temple of the Sun. Here, the Sapa Inca calls on the blessings from the sun. Following the oration, Sapa Inca is carried on a golden throne, a replica of the original which weighed about 60 kilos, in a procession to the ancient fortress saqsaywaman, in the hills above Cuzco. With the Sapa Inca come the high priests, garbed in ceremonial robes, then officials of the court, nobles and others, all elaborately costumed according to their rank, with silver and gold ornaments.
They walk along flower-bedecked streets, to music and prayers and dancing. Women sweep the streets to clear them of evil spirits. At Sacsayhuamán , where huge crowds await the arrival of the procession, Sapa Inca climbs to the sacred altar where all can see him.
Once all the celebrants are in place in the grand square of the fortress, there are speeches by Sapa Inca, the priests and representatives of the Suyos: the Snake for the world below, the Puma for life on earth, and the Condor for the upper world of the gods.
A white llama is sacrificed (now in a very realistic stage act) and the high priest holds aloft the bloody heart in honor of Pachamama. This is done to ensure the fertility of the earth which in combination with light and warmth from the sun provides a bountiful crop. The priests read the blood stains to see the future for the Inca.
As the sun begins to set, stacks of straw are set on fire and the celebrants dance around them to honor Tawantinsuty or the Empire of the Four Wind Directions. In ancient times, no fire was allowed that day until the evening fires.
The ceremony of Inti Raymi ends with a procession back to Cuzco. Sapa Inca and Mama Occla are carried on their thrones, the high priests and representatives of the Supas pronounce blessings on the people. Once again, a new year has begun.
June 24 is also celebrated throughout Peru as Indians Day or Peasants Day.
Things to know:
Inti Raymi is an all-day event, with at least five hours spent at Sacsayhuamán. Entry to the fortress is free, and rental chairs are available from booths around the main square. There are also food and drink vendors. There are no guard rails on the ruins and every year people are injured in falls. If you want a reserved seat, they are available with tickets bought in advance.
Lodgings are booked far in advance for the festival week. Hotels and restaurants do a booming business. While you are there, it may be difficult to get an unobstructed view of the Inca method of building using stones and no mortar, but buy a visitor ticket which is valid for ten days and gets you into fourteen important sites in Cuzco.
Tell us about your experiences! What not to miss, what to avoid and how to manage the crowds
lunes, 13 de julio de 2009
lares trek 4d/3n cusco peru
2009/7/13 Marie Ayer
hi Marianella,
Just wanted to say thanks for a wonderful trek. We really enjoyed working with your agency and had a fantastic time with Rudi.
Take care and wishing you and your family the best!
Marie Ayer
hi Marianella,
Just wanted to say thanks for a wonderful trek. We really enjoyed working with your agency and had a fantastic time with Rudi.
Take care and wishing you and your family the best!
Marie Ayer
Khipu Archives
Khipu Archives
An archive is a set of records pertaining to the people of an area who had common, interrelated interests, and shared practices of accounting and record keeping.
In the context of khipu, the archive paradigm is based on the hypothesis that khipu that have a common provenience, or that are known to come from the same archaeological context, were probably produced by local khipu keepers or by Inka accountants who were resident in that locale. In either case, khipu that come from a single site or narrowly defined region can be considered potentially to bear some historical and/or substantive relationship to each other. One potential consequence of such relationships is that the khipu that constitute an archive will likely build on, complement, duplicate, and possibly even comment on each other.
At present there are only two archives of khipu known to have been found together: the set of Chachapoyas khipu from the north of Peru, and the khipu of Puruchuco, a site on the coast near Lima. Other archives are based on grouping together khipu from different collections which have the same provenance. There are three of these archives: Ica, Circum-Ica (khipu from the area immediately surrounding Ica), and Pachacmac. Though most archives are currently composed of less than 30 khipu each, there are some clear differences from one archive to another. As more data are collected, it is possible that the archive paradigm could be used to suggest provenance for khipu that have no known origin.
Garcilaso de la Vega, a 17th-century Spanish chronicler, reported the following about khipu practices:
Although the quipucamayus [khipu-makers/keepers] were as accurate and honest as we have said, their number in each village was in proportion to its population, and however small, it had at least four and so upwards to twenty or thirty. They all kept the same records, and although one accountant or scribe was all that would have been necessary to keep them, the Incas preferred to have plenty in each village and for each sort of calculation, so as to avoid faults that might occur if there were few, saying that if there were a number of them, they would either all be at fault or none of them (1966 [1609]:331).
This passage clearly implies that multiple khipu with the same information existed in one area. Relationships such as matching numerical sequences, identical color patterning, or similar structure are more likely to be found between khipu belonging to the same archive than between objects with different provenance.
An archive is a set of records pertaining to the people of an area who had common, interrelated interests, and shared practices of accounting and record keeping.
In the context of khipu, the archive paradigm is based on the hypothesis that khipu that have a common provenience, or that are known to come from the same archaeological context, were probably produced by local khipu keepers or by Inka accountants who were resident in that locale. In either case, khipu that come from a single site or narrowly defined region can be considered potentially to bear some historical and/or substantive relationship to each other. One potential consequence of such relationships is that the khipu that constitute an archive will likely build on, complement, duplicate, and possibly even comment on each other.
At present there are only two archives of khipu known to have been found together: the set of Chachapoyas khipu from the north of Peru, and the khipu of Puruchuco, a site on the coast near Lima. Other archives are based on grouping together khipu from different collections which have the same provenance. There are three of these archives: Ica, Circum-Ica (khipu from the area immediately surrounding Ica), and Pachacmac. Though most archives are currently composed of less than 30 khipu each, there are some clear differences from one archive to another. As more data are collected, it is possible that the archive paradigm could be used to suggest provenance for khipu that have no known origin.
Garcilaso de la Vega, a 17th-century Spanish chronicler, reported the following about khipu practices:
Although the quipucamayus [khipu-makers/keepers] were as accurate and honest as we have said, their number in each village was in proportion to its population, and however small, it had at least four and so upwards to twenty or thirty. They all kept the same records, and although one accountant or scribe was all that would have been necessary to keep them, the Incas preferred to have plenty in each village and for each sort of calculation, so as to avoid faults that might occur if there were few, saying that if there were a number of them, they would either all be at fault or none of them (1966 [1609]:331).
This passage clearly implies that multiple khipu with the same information existed in one area. Relationships such as matching numerical sequences, identical color patterning, or similar structure are more likely to be found between khipu belonging to the same archive than between objects with different provenance.
What Is a Khipu?
What Is a Khipu?
Most of the existing khipu are from the Inka period, approx 1400 – 1532 CE. The Inka empire stretched from Ecuador through central Chile, with its heart in Cuzco, a city in the high Andes of southern Peru. Colonial documents indicate that khipu were used for record keeping and sending messages by runner throughout the empire. There are approximately 600 khipu surviving in museums and private collections around the world.
Photo courtesy of Peabody Museum, Harvard University.
The word khipu comes from the Quechua word for “knot" and denotes both singular and plural. Khipu are textile artifacts composed of cords of cotton or occasionally camelid fiber. The cords are arranged such that there is one main cord, called a primary cord, from which many pendant cords hang. There may be additional cords attached to a pendant cord; these are termed subsidiaries. Some khipu have up to 10 or 12 levels of subsidiaries. Khipu are often displayed with the primary cord stretched horizontally, so that the pendants appear to form a curtain of parallel cords, or with the primary cord in a curve, so that the pendants radiate out from their points of attachment. When khipu were in use, they were transported and stored with the primary cord rolled into a spiral. In this configuration khipu have been compared to string mops.
Each khipu cord may have one or many knots. Leland Locke (see references) was the first to show that the knots had numerical significance. The Inkas used a decimal system of counting. Numbers of varying magnitude could be indicated by knot type and the position of the knot on its cord. Beginning in the 1970’s, Marcia and Robert Ascher conducted invaluable research into the numeric significance of khipu, and developed a system of recording khipu details which is still in wide use today among khipu researchers. More recently, researchers such as Gary Urton have recognized the depth of information contained in non-numeric, structural elements of khipu.
Most of the existing khipu are from the Inka period, approx 1400 – 1532 CE. The Inka empire stretched from Ecuador through central Chile, with its heart in Cuzco, a city in the high Andes of southern Peru. Colonial documents indicate that khipu were used for record keeping and sending messages by runner throughout the empire. There are approximately 600 khipu surviving in museums and private collections around the world.
Photo courtesy of Peabody Museum, Harvard University.
The word khipu comes from the Quechua word for “knot" and denotes both singular and plural. Khipu are textile artifacts composed of cords of cotton or occasionally camelid fiber. The cords are arranged such that there is one main cord, called a primary cord, from which many pendant cords hang. There may be additional cords attached to a pendant cord; these are termed subsidiaries. Some khipu have up to 10 or 12 levels of subsidiaries. Khipu are often displayed with the primary cord stretched horizontally, so that the pendants appear to form a curtain of parallel cords, or with the primary cord in a curve, so that the pendants radiate out from their points of attachment. When khipu were in use, they were transported and stored with the primary cord rolled into a spiral. In this configuration khipu have been compared to string mops.
Each khipu cord may have one or many knots. Leland Locke (see references) was the first to show that the knots had numerical significance. The Inkas used a decimal system of counting. Numbers of varying magnitude could be indicated by knot type and the position of the knot on its cord. Beginning in the 1970’s, Marcia and Robert Ascher conducted invaluable research into the numeric significance of khipu, and developed a system of recording khipu details which is still in wide use today among khipu researchers. More recently, researchers such as Gary Urton have recognized the depth of information contained in non-numeric, structural elements of khipu.
Selections from Beyond Machu Picchu; Explorations and Adventure in Peru's Remote Vilcabamba
Selections from Beyond Machu Picchu; Explorations and Adventure in Peru's Remote Vilcabamba
"With ten days worth of supplies, tents, fresh food, a ration of Absolut vodka carefully loaded on 28 mules and horses, we march out in the morning like Pizarro's army. Although, it is adventure and the quest for Manco's secrets that fuels are enthusiasm, not Inca gold!"
"Hugh, David and I separate from the mule train to climb a high pointed peak overlooking the junction of the valleys. We suspect that this prominent overlook may have attracted the attention of early inhabitants. To our delight, we find the remains of foundations, ruined walls and a number of burial chambers dotting the flattened summit. A secret of finding ruins is knowing where to look. To mountain worshiping Andean cultures, a tradition that preceded the Inca by several millennium, these high summits were both natural shrines and ritual astronomical observatories."
"Almost any such mountain top is likely to contain ruins. The remoteness and difficulty of traveling in this most rugged part of the Andes, climbing and descending several thousand meters on primitive trails daily, from high glaciers to tropical cloud forest, has restricted exploration to a hand full of eccentric mountaineers."
"The trail down from the pass narrows through exposed cliffs that seem to almost overhang the tiny ribbon of river some 2000 meters below then plunges into thick cloud vegetation. Reminiscent of some Walt Disney enchanted forest, gnarled moss covered trees host long creepers and twisted vines. Steamy vapors raise from decaying leaves and trunks laying beneath a tangle of bamboo. A small gray snake with a pointed head slides quickly across the path in front of me. We pass the occasional moss coated wall indicating that someone else was here in the distant past. Somewhere a tree frog croaks out a warning. We hurry on, not relishing the idea of being benighted here. Camp is comfortably awaiting us on the far end of the great walls that guard the approach to Choquequirao. We arrive just at dark."
"We followed a recently cleared trail to the point where the broad sloping bowl below Choquequirao drops away in cliffs....Suddenly, we are on a steeply descending stone stairway...we arrive at three very unusual buildings, two on top of the other but offset, overlooking a deep gorge and waterfall plunging from the heights of the mountain side above."
"A few old cow trails made by Choquequirao's only resident, Lucas Coborubias lead here and there from a few clearings. We follow one that heads in the direction of the the ridge, a mere kilometer away. Finally, too far to reasonably turn back, all options end in bamboo tangle. Determined, we plunge on swinging machetes. Scratched and exhausted, sweat stained, shirts torn, we reach the ridge hours later.
"As fate would have it, we find a group of six Inca houses and a bath hidden along the way. With little time for study, we take a brief look and push on. Fortunately, I have my GPS to mark the location as no one could find their way here again unaided."
"Each journey to Choquequirao creates more questions than answers. As the site grows in size and importance, my mind races with the possibilities. Now another Colorado winter to plan the next return."
"Leaving Choquequirao by the shortest route requires descending 2000 meters down into the narrow Apurimac gorge, crossing a swinging foot bridge then climbing 2000 meters back out of the canyon on a two day journey along precipitous trails. Since Hiram Bingham's 1910 visit, fewer than two hundred visitors had reached the site before our first expedition in 1994. Our route across the wildest part of the Andes takes seven days. This is the stuff of genuine adventure! In a romantic sense, what we are doing is like stepping back into the 19th century. Where but Peru, the cradle of civilization of the new world, do `lost cities' await discovery by machete and mule?
"With ten days worth of supplies, tents, fresh food, a ration of Absolut vodka carefully loaded on 28 mules and horses, we march out in the morning like Pizarro's army. Although, it is adventure and the quest for Manco's secrets that fuels are enthusiasm, not Inca gold!"
"Hugh, David and I separate from the mule train to climb a high pointed peak overlooking the junction of the valleys. We suspect that this prominent overlook may have attracted the attention of early inhabitants. To our delight, we find the remains of foundations, ruined walls and a number of burial chambers dotting the flattened summit. A secret of finding ruins is knowing where to look. To mountain worshiping Andean cultures, a tradition that preceded the Inca by several millennium, these high summits were both natural shrines and ritual astronomical observatories."
"Almost any such mountain top is likely to contain ruins. The remoteness and difficulty of traveling in this most rugged part of the Andes, climbing and descending several thousand meters on primitive trails daily, from high glaciers to tropical cloud forest, has restricted exploration to a hand full of eccentric mountaineers."
"The trail down from the pass narrows through exposed cliffs that seem to almost overhang the tiny ribbon of river some 2000 meters below then plunges into thick cloud vegetation. Reminiscent of some Walt Disney enchanted forest, gnarled moss covered trees host long creepers and twisted vines. Steamy vapors raise from decaying leaves and trunks laying beneath a tangle of bamboo. A small gray snake with a pointed head slides quickly across the path in front of me. We pass the occasional moss coated wall indicating that someone else was here in the distant past. Somewhere a tree frog croaks out a warning. We hurry on, not relishing the idea of being benighted here. Camp is comfortably awaiting us on the far end of the great walls that guard the approach to Choquequirao. We arrive just at dark."
"We followed a recently cleared trail to the point where the broad sloping bowl below Choquequirao drops away in cliffs....Suddenly, we are on a steeply descending stone stairway...we arrive at three very unusual buildings, two on top of the other but offset, overlooking a deep gorge and waterfall plunging from the heights of the mountain side above."
"A few old cow trails made by Choquequirao's only resident, Lucas Coborubias lead here and there from a few clearings. We follow one that heads in the direction of the the ridge, a mere kilometer away. Finally, too far to reasonably turn back, all options end in bamboo tangle. Determined, we plunge on swinging machetes. Scratched and exhausted, sweat stained, shirts torn, we reach the ridge hours later.
"As fate would have it, we find a group of six Inca houses and a bath hidden along the way. With little time for study, we take a brief look and push on. Fortunately, I have my GPS to mark the location as no one could find their way here again unaided."
"Each journey to Choquequirao creates more questions than answers. As the site grows in size and importance, my mind races with the possibilities. Now another Colorado winter to plan the next return."
"Leaving Choquequirao by the shortest route requires descending 2000 meters down into the narrow Apurimac gorge, crossing a swinging foot bridge then climbing 2000 meters back out of the canyon on a two day journey along precipitous trails. Since Hiram Bingham's 1910 visit, fewer than two hundred visitors had reached the site before our first expedition in 1994. Our route across the wildest part of the Andes takes seven days. This is the stuff of genuine adventure! In a romantic sense, what we are doing is like stepping back into the 19th century. Where but Peru, the cradle of civilization of the new world, do `lost cities' await discovery by machete and mule?
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