Archaeologists find ancient site older than Machu Picchu

[Judi Lynn]

The ancient mountaintop settlement in Peru is 1,500 metres higher than the Inca capital and has pre-Inca features

Hayley Skirka
Nov 12, 2019



Researchers in Peru have discovered an ancient site pre-dating the ancient Inca capital. Courtesy Pedro Szekely / flickr


Researchers and explorers in Peru have uncovered an ancient settlement that is older than Machu Picchu.

Archaeologists Thomas Hardy and Adan Choqque Arce alongside explorer Albert Linn used new drone technology to explore the ancient settlement high in the Peruvian Andes.

Located in an area called Wat'a and sitting at an altitude of almost 4,000 metres, 1,500 metres higher than the ancient capital of the Inca community, the region had previously only been explored using traditional archaeological methods.

. . .

Using Light Detection and Ranging technology (Lidar) the trio were able to identify signature Inca terracing and pre-Inca structures for the first time.

More:
https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/archaeologists-find-ancient-site-older-than-machu-picchu-1.936503




ANCIENT INCA CITY LOCATED 13,000 FEET HIGH IN PERUVIAN ANDES REVEALED BY LASER TECHNOLOGY
BY ARISTOS GEORGIOU ON 11/10/19 AT 5:00 AM EST

Researchers have uncovered fascinating new insights into an ancient mountaintop settlement high up in the Peruvian Andes, which pre-dates the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu.

National Geographic explorer Albert Lin—along with archaeologists Adan Choqque Arce and Thomas Hardy—used a revolutionary technology known as LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to reveal the full extent of this city, which was settled by the Incas and the people that came before them (often referred to as the pre-Incas).

The settlement lies in an archaeological zone known as Wat'a—meaning "island" in the local Indigenous language—at an altitude of around 13,000 feet. This is around 5,000 feet higher than Machu Picchu, the crowning glory of the Inca civilization.

"It is very challenging to get there," Lin told Newsweek. "You're at around 13,000 feet of elevation and its mostly open landscape because there's not a lot of trees around, so you're basically baking in the high altitude sun, all the way up."

More:
https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-inca-city-peruvian-andes-1468755