Английский язык. 11 класс (О. В. Афанасьева и др.)
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| 4. Machu Picchu is a city located high in the Andes Mountains in
modern Peru. It lies 43 miles northwest of Cuzco, the Incas capital. Machu Picchu (which means “Old Peak”) was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by an Incan ruler. The city has an altitude of 8,000 feet. Machu Picchu is comprised of approximately 200 buildings, most being residences, although there are temples, storage structures and other public buildings. 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 Incan 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 152 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. 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 are women. жүктеу/скачать 0,65 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
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