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 


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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.


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