Inca Island in the Sky (Full Episode) | Lost Cities with Albert Lin

Machu Picchu

• Machu Picchu is an iconic Inca city shrouded in mystery regarding its origins.
• Albert Lin uses 21st-century technology to uncover the secrets behind its creation.
• Machu Picchu showcases impressive architecture, including vertical terracing, open plazas, temples, and ceremonial doorways.

Pre-Inca Origins

• The search for Machu Picchu's origins leads to the exploration of pre-Inca remains near Rayaka.
• A local legend mentions an ancient site on a hillside, warning about respecting local traditions and beliefs.
• The team discovers a grave with a skull and leg bone, suggesting pre-Inca presence.
• Lidar technology digitally removes obstacles and reveals potential pre-Inca buildings and terraces.
• The team finds "chullpas" (circular stone structures) and rectangular structures, indicating a pre-Inca village or ceremonial site.
• The Inca built their structures next to pre-Inca tombs, appropriating them as a political and religious statement.
• The Inca incorporated aspects of earlier belief systems into their own, asserting their power and authority.

Cult of the Wiota

• The search for Machu Picchu's origins leads to the investigation of the cult of the Wiota, a creator god that predates the Inca.
• Kin saata volcano, believed to be a sacred pre-Inca site, inspired stories of fire falling from the heavens.
• The Inca built a temple at the volcano's base after witnessing the Wiota shrine and ordered its expansion.

Inca City of Wat

• Wat, located at 13,000 ft, is older and higher than Machu Picchu, featuring Inca symbols and double jamb doors, indicating spiritual significance.
• The Inca transformed Wat from an earlier settlement into an Inca place, building on existing structures.
• The mountains were considered sacred by the people, who believed they originated from them and revered them as ancestors.
• Lidar technology reveals signature Inca terracing and circular structures, suggesting pre-Inca occupation.
• Machine learning and computer vision algorithms identify potential pre-Inca features, including circular structures and pottery fragments.
• Ground truthing confirms pre-Inca structures and artifacts, including a snake-like pottery fragment dating back to 1100-1300 AD.
• Wat was a pre-Inca mountaintop town later transformed by the Inca, with residential areas, ceremonial plazas, and grand terracing.
• The Inca likely chose Wat as a significant location due to its pre-existing importance and incorporated local beliefs into their architecture and city planning.
• Wat serves as a prototype for Machu Picchu, showcasing the evolution of Andean architecture and beliefs over time.