Of all the Spanish speaking countries in the world, Perú is the one which best carries the epithet ‘mysterious’. Mystery equates to “We don’t understand”!
Take a look at this site located on the northern outskirts of Cusco:
image: wowpictures.link
Saksaywaman (meaning Falcon) is a megalithic structure, that is to say it was built with very large stones.
How large? Well, you can see a couple of people walking above the largest stones situated in the first row, so that will give you an idea of scale. Let’s go in for a closer look:
image: hiddenincatours.com
Very large and very heavy. Imagine transporting these stones to their place of rest. Do you think a sophisticated pulley system would be enough for that task? How about a giant cart pulled by a dozen horses? Let’s go closer still:
image: lostorigins.com
Every single stone a perfect fit. No mortar involved. The very definition of ‘interlocking’!
It is known that the first structure at Saksaywaman was not built by the Inca (13th-16th century). They built at the same site but did so at a later date.
image: wanderinggoo.blogspot.com
Look at the stonework on the right in the above image. That was done by the Inca and in comparison to the main structure it looks like filling. The megaliths themselves were put there by an earlier civilisation, perhaps by the Killke culture (900-1200 AD).
I would love to ask them: How did you do it??
What’s your own theory?
Jim
Jim Porter is a co-founder of Speekee®, home of the most comprehensive Spanish learning program for children ever to appear online
Jim began his Spanish learning journey in 1990. He has been a language teacher since 1994 and he lives in sunny southern Spain with his two bilingual children. Loves it! More…