RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Machu Picchu, located about 80 kilometers from Cusco in Peru, is one of South America’s most famous sites and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, determining the date of construction has been a complex undertaking, relying until now on recovered writings from the period.
New research based on bones and teeth now shows that the city’s occupation may have occurred at least two decades earlier than previously thought.
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“The remains show little evidence of heavy physical labor, such as construction, which means they probably date from the time the site served as a land palace, rather than the time it was built,” said Yale University professor Richard Burger, one of the people responsible for the study.
According to information published on the website Sci News (and originally in the scientific journal Antiquity), the findings show that Machu Picchu was used from about 1420 to 1530 – roughly the Spanish conquest – which raises questions about our understanding of Inca chronology.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the corpses of 26 individuals using radiocarbon, a new technique for this purpose.
WHAT WAS THOUGHT EARLIER
Earlier historical sources dealing with the Spanish invasion of the Inca Empire state that Emperor Pachacuti took power in 1438 and subsequently conquered the lower Urubamba Valley, where Machu Picchu is located. Based on these records, scholars estimated that the site was built after 1440, perhaps even after 1450, considering the time it took Pachacuti to dominate the region and build the stone palace.
“Until now, estimates of the age of Machu Picchu and the duration of its occupation have been based on conflicting historical accounts written by Spaniards in the period after the Spanish conquest,” says Professor Richard.
Also known as the “Lost City of the Incas,” the site is one of Latin America’s most important archaeological sites, “discovered” in 1911 and chosen as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World in 2007.