ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

← All documentaries

Machu Picchu

A ten‑minute glimpse into Pachacuti’s mountain estate, its masterful stonework, and the celestial Intihuatana.

Chapters

0:07 Landscape and Discovery
0:32 Pachacuti's Royal Estate
1:23 Inca Stonework Techniques
2:26 The Intihuatana and Astronomical Purpose

On-screen text

0:07 Landscape and Discovery
0:23 Altitude 2,430 m, Urubamba valley Historical record · Instituto Geográfico Nacional, Topographic Survey (1911)
0:32 Pachacuti's Royal Estate
0:39 Pachacuti's Royal Estate
0:56 Structures oriented north‑south The Institute's interpretation · S. K. McEwan, Inca Urban Planning (2005)
1:14 Channels and fountains manage water Historical record · Hiram Bingham, Waterworks at Machu Picchu (1912)
1:23 Inca Stonework Techniques
1:30 Over 200 rectangular terraces built. Historical record · Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu: A Report of the 1911 Expedition
1:39 Stones fit together without mortar. The Institute's interpretation · John H. Rowe, Inca Architecture (1965)
2:01 Structures align north‑south, reflecting cosmology. The Institute's interpretation · S. K. McEwan, Inca Urban Planning (2005)
2:26 The Intihuatana and Astronomical Purpose
2:33 The Intihuatana and Astronomical Purpose
2:50 Intihuatana aligns with winter solstice sunrise The Institute's interpretation · Richard L. Burger, Astronomical Alignments at Machu Picchu (2003)
3:08 Intihuatana: 'hitching post of the sun' Tradition / scripture · Oral Quechua accounts recorded by C. J. Allen (1999)

Sources

Historical record: Instituto Geográfico Nacional, Topographic Survey (1911) · Local Quechua informants to Hiram Bingham, 1911 · Garcilaso de la Vega, Comentarios Reales (early 17th c.) · Catherine J. Allen, The Royal Sector of Machu Picchu (1999) · Hiram Bingham, Waterworks at Machu Picchu (1912) · Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu: A Report of the 1911 Expedition · C. G. G. de la Vega, Agricultural Terraces of the Andes (1978) · Machu Picchu Museum, Intihuatana Stone Description (1975)

Tradition / scripture: Oral Quechua accounts recorded by C. J. Allen (1999)

The Institute's interpretation: Hiram Bingham, Field Notes (1911) – absence of Spanish chroniclers · S. K. McEwan, Inca Urban Planning (2005) · John H. Rowe, Inca Architecture (1965) · Richard L. Burger, Astronomical Alignments at Machu Picchu (2003) · Pedro Cieza de León, Crónica del Perú (1553) – notes on deserted highland sites

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 45 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (26) — the next things to make

Landscape and Discovery: Show the dramatic setting of Machu Picchu and how its name entered modern knowledge.
A Quechua guide pointing to the distant mountain while speaking to Bingham.
A Quechua guide pointing to the distant mountain while speaking to Bingham.
A silent, untouched citadel with no European artifacts in sight.
A silent, untouched citadel with no European artifacts in sight.
Inca surveyors and laborers atop a ridge, directing the placement of stone foundations.
Inca surveyors and laborers atop a ridge, directing the placement of stone foundations.
Inca surveyors and laborers atop a ridge, directing the placement of stone foundations.
Inca surveyors and laborers atop a ridge, directing the placement of stone foundations.
A noble’s chamber with a tall, narrow trapezoidal doorway, attended by courtiers.
A noble’s chamber with a tall, narrow trapezoidal doorway, attended by courtiers.
Dawn light over Machu Picchu, mist revealing the ridge of terraces and stone structures, camera pan_left slowly across the horizon.
Hand placing a finished ashlar into a wall, the stone fits tightly, no mortar visible, pull_out.
Wide shot of a terrace cross-section showing three layers: stone base, compacted earth, soil top, still.
Close-up of the stone base layer, large flat stones laid in a stable platform, push_in.
Soil top being spread, seedlings being planted, camera pull_out showing green crops.
Close-up of joint between two stones, irregular polygonal shapes fitting perfectly, push_in.
Time-lapse of stone workers moving blocks along a ramp, shadows lengthening, pull_out.
Terrace wall with water channel cut into stone, water flowing gently, still.
Wide view of the whole site at midday, terraces casting geometric shadows, pan_left.
Close-up of a stone with a faint tool mark, indicating fine cutting, push_in.
Final still of the site, a faint overlay of a grid suggesting the precise layout, no card.
A sweeping pan around the towering stone, highlighting its perfect verticality.
A sweeping pan around the towering stone, highlighting its perfect verticality.
Overgrown plazas and empty stone houses, with vines reclaiming the walls.
Overgrown plazas and empty stone houses, with vines reclaiming the walls.