Time and place
Peru
Primary AMS study abstract: remains from four cemeteries support occupation approximately 1420–1532 CE. The interval does not date every structure or the whole Inca realm.
Connected worlds · Settlement · Peru
Machu Picchu: building with a mountain
c. 1420–1532 CE (AMS-supported occupation interval)
How does a built place work with a steep landscape?
Terraces, ramps and buildings at Machu Picchu were fitted to an Andean mountain setting. Dating evidence helps examine the site’s occupation, without dating every structure or all of Tawantinsuyu.
Research draft · the main interpretation still needs independent reviewPage published · Source packet updated
At a glance
- Place
- Peru
- Dates · case focus
- c. 1420–1532 CE (AMS-supported occupation interval)Primary AMS study abstract: remains from four cemeteries support occupation approximately 1420–1532 CE. The interval does not date every structure or the whole Inca realm.
- The question
- How does a built place work with a steep landscape?
- Key finding
- Machu Picchu preserves terraces, ramps and built structures in an Andean mountain setting. Read the evidence ↓
- Important limit
- This is one site, not all of Tawantinsuyu. The dates do not describe every occupation or the histories of living Andean communities.
Where this case belongs
Peru · c. 1420–1532 CE (AMS-supported occupation interval)
These points locate named sites or parts of a listed property. They show geographic references, not ancient borders or excavation plans. They make no claim about present-day sovereignty.
● Published reference point. Natural Earth public-domain land outline. No political boundaries are shown. The map does not capture scrolling.
Locations, precision and sources (1)
- Machu Picchu
Published heritage-property reference point; not an excavation coordinate or ancient boundary. Present-day geographic reference for the named site/component; does not date an occupation or establish a territory.
-13.1849°, -72.5334° · Coordinate source ↗
Source passage and date
S13 11 5.762 W72 32 0.395
Coordinate source checked 2026-10-27.
What this case covers
What was found
Machu Picchu preserves terraces, ramps and built structures in an Andean mountain setting.
What it may tell us
The sampled remains and the buildings around them are different kinds of evidence.
Alternative explanations and limits
This is one site, not all of Tawantinsuyu. The dates do not describe every occupation or the histories of living Andean communities.
Access and review notes
The radiocarbon study is a separate analytical source from the heritage summary; university news about that paper is the same study. Its full model and sampling sections still need review before claiming a comprehensive chronology. Image and human-remains reuse requires separate decisions.
Read the evidence
Source links apply to specific claims. Several links can lead back to the same study. Read what each source supports.
Machu Picchu preserves terraces, ramps and built structures in an Andean mountain setting.
What remains uncertain
This is one site, not all of Tawantinsuyu. The dates do not describe every occupation or the histories of living Andean communities.
Method and source passage
Institutional primary description; introductory synthesis
Description and statement of Outstanding Universal Value
AMS measurements of remains from four cemeteries support occupation around 1420–1532 CE.
What remains uncertain
This estimates site occupation from a burial sample; it does not date every building or all Inca history.
Method and source passage
Primary research/institutional source, bounded finding
Abstract
Questions that remain
- How does a built place work with a steep landscape?
- Which independent evidence would refine or challenge this account?
Settlement
The sampled remains and the buildings around them are different kinds of evidence.
Limit: This is one site, not all of Tawantinsuyu. The dates do not describe every occupation or the histories of living Andean communities.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Machu Picchu ↓Dating evidence
Burial-based radiocarbon evidence can challenge a chronology inferred mainly from written accounts.
Limit: The inspected abstract does not expose the full sampling/model details; those remain a review step.
Burger et al. (2021), New AMS dates for Machu Picchu ↓Sources you can inspect
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Machu Picchu ↗
Machu Picchu preserves terraces, ramps and built structures in an Andean mountain setting.
- Passage or section
- Description and statement of Outstanding Universal Value
Access and source overlap
Institutional primary web account inspected 27 October 2026; no fieldwork or independent peer review claimed
Several links may describe the same research. Shared authors or data can limit how much independent confirmation they provide.
Burger et al. (2021), New AMS dates for Machu Picchu ↗
AMS chronology of bone/tooth samples from four cemeteries.
- Passage or section
- Abstract; Antiquity95(383),1265–1279
Access and source overlap
Primary publisher abstract inspected; full article not available through the retrieved abstract page
Several links may describe the same research. Shared authors or data can limit how much independent confirmation they provide.