Marilyn Fairburn, age 11, of Spokane, Wash., for her question:
What is Machu Picchu?
This is a glamorous tale of the sun god Incas of Peru. Their sacred capital city was Cuzco, and Machu Picchu was a lofty fortress built to guard it. Spanish conquistadores ,wiped out the ruling Incas and their vast empire fell apart. Their splendid cities, roads and fortresses were plundered and demolished. Machu Picchu is one of the few Inca settlements that escaped.
It was built in the 15th Century, a city fortress perched on an impossible ledge, high in the lofty Peruvian Andes. Mount Machu Picchu provided an ideal site for a lookout stronghold. It has a misty peak; and three steep sides that plunge 2000 feet down jungled cliffs. On the jungle floor, the Urubamba River swirls a current of wild rapids around the base of the mountain. On the fourth side of the site, steep cliffs lead up to the mountain's misty summit.
Some 50 miles to the southeast stood the splendid city of Cuzco, capital of the thriv¬ing Inca Empire which stretched the full length of South America. Over 500 years ago, Machu Picchu was built and fortified to protect the sacred Inca capital from plundering barbaric tribes. For more than a century it fulfilled its purpose.
In 1533, the Spanish conquerors found the city of Cuzco, demolished its temples and looted its golden treasures. But they did not find Machu Picchu. As the Inca Empire crumbled, its warriors departed and the jungle growth covered the fine stone city. A few people stayed to farm the terraced fields on the slope.
At the turn of this century, an American archeologist, Hiram Bingham, became fascinated by the ruins of the ancient Inca civilization. He searched through diaries and other reports written during the time of Cortez. He listened to half forgotten tales told by Indians who still lived in the land of the Incas and concluded that some of the old cities never had been found.
In 1911, Bingham led a party to explore Cuzco. Instead, he found the well preserved ruins of Machu Picchu. The trail led doom the steep gorge of the Urubamba River, through the jungles of the eastern slopes of the mountain, 3000 feet up toward its misty peak.
On the slope he found terraced fields supported by sturdy stone walls. The Incas, he knew built such terraces to grow food for their cities. Above was the overgrown fortress. Bingham returned to the site three times with archeologists. The encroaching jungle was removed with expert care, and stone by stone the forgotten city was revealed. In 1948 a highway was opened, and nowadays visitors can drive to the old fort city of Machu Picchu.
The fortress site covers an area of 400 feet by 325 feet. Its 200 stone buildings were constructed by master masons. They include houses and temples, shrines and sturdy staircases. It is estimated that in its heyday the fort was home to perhaps a thousand people. High on the mountain peak is a giant sundial, where the Inca priests implored the sun to return from its winter solstice.