Machu Picchu: Exploring an Ancient Sacred Center (Revised) (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781931745444)

Machu Picchu, recently voted one of the New Wonders of the World, is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, yet it remains a mystery. Even the most basic questions are still unanswered: What was its meaning and why was it built in such a difficult location? Renowned explorer Johan Reinhard attempts to answer such elusive questions from the perspectives of sacred landscape and archaeoastronomy. Using information gathered from historical, archaeological, and ethnographical sources, Reinhard demonstrates how the site is situated in the center of sacred mountains and associated with a sacred river, which is in turn symbolically linked with the sun's passage. Taken together, these features meant that Machu Picchu formed a cosmological, hydrological, and sacred geological center for a vast region.

Author: Johan Reinhard
ISBN-10: 1931745447
ISBN-13: 9781931745444
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2007
Pages: 200
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.16lbs
Size: 8.95h x 6.48w x 0.61d

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2008 pg. 74