Intihuatana is a

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

stone in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

. Its name is derived from the local

Quechua language Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...

. The most notable Intihuantana is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located at Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The name of the stone (coined perhaps by Hiram Bingham) is derived from Quechua: ''inti'' means "sun", and ''wata-'' is the verb root "to tie, hitch (up)" (''huata-'' is simply a Spanish spelling). The Quechua ''-na'' suffix derives nouns for tools or places. Hence ''inti watana'' is literally an instrument or place to "tie up the sun", often expressed in English as "The Hitching Post of the Sun".

References

{{Reflist Ancient astronomy Inca Empire

See also

References