After a relaxing and work filled weekend, it was time to go see some more objects the Inca left behind. Today, June 17th, the Study Abroad group and I went to the Inca ruins of Saksaywaman, a complex that was built over 500 years ago. To get to the site in time for us to pack the rest of the day, we woke up at 5:30 am, left to go find a bus at 6:30, and then departed for the site around 7. When then walked a bit to get to the site.
When we got to Saksaywaman (Saqsayhuaman), we were told to look out for the construction of some of the walls, small irrigation canals, and how these may have been associated with certain astronomical properties, such as the sun or moon. The first thing that I noticed was how well put each large stone was next to one another in order to create the wall. There was no mortar used to hold the stones together, so most of the pieces were carved to fit like a jigsaw puzzle.
It was also very interesting to learn that some of the mid-level to top pieces had small bulges coming from the bottom of them, though none of the bottom pieces had them. After hypothesizing, we are highly confident that these bulges were used to help lift the rocks onto the lower stones, either by a pulley system or by pushing the rocks through heavy lifting. We also saw some rocks that were curved, in order to provide a strong foundation, as well as trapezoidal openings that were more than likely used as placeholders for idols.
After we examined the walls, we saw some of the irrigation channels that were used. These channels would take any excess water from were the water was collecting and transport it down the hill. To get the water to go down these paths, the Inca would sometimes change the composition of the soil to create the flow down the channels, and sometimes this pathways would be on the steps. It was very interesting to examine some of the irrigation techniques of the Inca, and I would be happy to look into their system more.
After we saw the walls and irrigation channels, we took a small break and then continued. After some walking we were able to see the quarry that the Inca mined stone from, as well as a terrace that was used by the Inca. The stone from the quarry was so smooth, and the architecture of the terrace was amazing, utilizing a stepping stone system so that the water from each step wouldn't flood, nor would it just evaporate quickly, thus allowing the lower levels to gather as much water as the top level.
Prior to examining the terrace and quarry, we ran into a herd of alpaca! I've heard much about these creatures, and it was awesome to be able to get close to a herd, not to mention one of them was a baby alpaca! It was very funny, however, when they would exaggeratedly run away, and some of them almost stampeded Joey Hopkins and Miles Mashburn when they were taking a photo of me with one.
Once we were finished annoying the alpacas and analyzing the quarry and terrace, we went to go onto the quarry and examine it a little more. From our point of view we could see that the area with the giant walls made of boulders were actually a terrace, and they made a zigzag motion, rather than the usual straight line terrace walls have. While we are not 100 percent what the reasoning is for the zigzag pattern, it would be very interesting to research. We then went further down the quarry, and discovered that some areas of the quarried hill were so soft that you could slide down them!Many of the students, including myself, took part in this, both on the first small one we saw and the much longer, taller "slide" we found.
The final site of the day was a beautiful overview of Cuzco, which was accompanied by a large statue of Jesus Christ, which is usually lite up at nighttime. Saksaywaman was a very interesting, insightful, and overall wonderful place. This has probably been the most fun I've had in Cuzco so far, from the quarried slides, to the alpaca herd, and to just learning more about the Inca Empire.
If you would like more information of Saksaywaman, check the wikipedia page:
If you would like to check out more on how the Inca quarried these stones, check out:
After we saw the walls and irrigation channels, we took a small break and then continued. After some walking we were able to see the quarry that the Inca mined stone from, as well as a terrace that was used by the Inca. The stone from the quarry was so smooth, and the architecture of the terrace was amazing, utilizing a stepping stone system so that the water from each step wouldn't flood, nor would it just evaporate quickly, thus allowing the lower levels to gather as much water as the top level.
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