16/02/2015
INTIHUATANA
The intihuatana is considered a religious construction of the Inca Empire. It is a monolithic sculpture carved in granite stone, dimensions of 1 to 2 meters high and 2 meters in diameter. Its form part of a base with different levels and on top rises of cubic appearance where 4 of their faces indicated to one of the main geographical directions: North, East, South and West.
Intihuatana is a quechua word meaning "where he is ata (or tie) the Sun (inti)", and it is believed that he served as astronomical calendar to define the seasons according to the shadow that the Sun gave the stone base.
Of the intihuatanas remaining, the most preserved are in the archaeological sites of Pisac and Machu Picchu. In Machu Picchu, the monolith is part of the Group intihuatana along with 2 enclosures type huayrona, within the sacred sector built on a mound of natural giving it an appearance of pyramidal trunk and 4 terraces and in whose top is located the Group intihuatana.
