Machu Picchu, rediscovered by Hiram Bingham III in 1911, served as the royal estate of Pachacuti. This ruler acquired his estates through conquest. As he gained control over territory, he commemorated his conquests by founding estates and palaces. Royal estates ostensibly
supported kings, but in reality benefited royal lineages, called panacas. These estates produced agricultural goods and "industrial" objects, as well as provided pleasure quarters, and religious architecture. This practice eventually reduced the amount of productive land in the empire, much to the discontent of the subjects in the Inca Empire. Also, royal estates sustained the ruler's political position and were central to the empire's infrastructure.The "Lost City of the Inca" has some significant architectural features. For example, a shrine in the shape of a condor reveals how natural features (the condor's wings) could be supplemented with construction (the body and head). The site also includes storehouses, still-functioning water
fountains, water mirrors, stone terraces, which served as retaining walls, ritual courtyards, and temples (including stone replications of other mountains, such as Mount Yanantin).Two types of construction are apparent at the site. One type involves stonework and simple mortar, the other involving precise stone on stone building. The latter type the Inca reserved for the most important structures, such as the Semicircular Temple. Trapezoids also feature consistently throughout Inca architecture, in niches and doorways, as a method of resisting earthquake damage.
Although archaeologists discovered about one hundred and fifty rooms, the estimated population ranges from seven hundred and fifty to five hundred persons, not including the surrounding territory. The terraces at the site support little agricultural land to sustain a large population. Many of those working at Machu Picchu appear to have been common laborers (yanaconas, mitimaes, and camayocs), as worn skeletons buried at the estate suggest.
Machu Picchu is impressive also due to its remote location. The estate is high above the Urubamba River in the cloud forest. The video below discusses some of the particulars of it's rediscovery, including his native guide. Recalling the local contribution relating to bringing such sites to scholarly attention is an important part of archaeology. Indigenous informants have traditionally received little attention, but their role in locating difficult-to-find sites ignored by historians (Spanish chroniclers, for example) is crucial to archaeologists.
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