More Inca Resources
- Guide to the Inca Empire
- The Inca capital city of Cusco
- Inca Road System
- Inca Road Photo Essay
- Inca writing system called Quipu
- Inca archaeological sites
A Walking Tour of Machu Picchu, Peru
By K. Kris Hirst, About.com Guide
Inca Architecture at Machu Picchu
Fine Inca masonry work, at Machu Picchu
Photograph by Gina Carey
Inca architecture was among the finest prehistoric architecture in the world. Examples can be seen in Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, and of course here at Machu Picchu. The building style is characterized by exquisitely cut masonry, placed together completely without mortar. The raw material was granite, worked by stone and sand into irregular shapes that fit together like a gigantic puzzle. Some stones have as many as thirty facets worked into the surface, and as a result, the faces of the stone fit together so tightly that a needle won't fit between them.
Prev
- Machu Picchu: A Walking Tour of Pachacuti's Castle
- A Forest of Clouds
- Terraces and Diplomacy
- Inca Architecture at Machu Picchu
- Rooms Constructed out of Bedrock and Cut Granite
- Interior Hallway and Rooms
- Unreconstructed Room Block at Machu Picchu
- Llamas on a Terrace at Machu Picchu
- Temple of the Moon, Huayna Picchu
- The Edge of the World
Related Resources
Machu Picchu at About
Machu Picchu on the Internet
Explore Archaeology
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