Do the newly LiDAR-revealed Inca roadways near Machu Picchu change our understanding of Llaqta de Machu Picchu's role?

Lens adapted to this topic: Ritual landscape hypothesis

A serious alternative reading gives greater weight to the routes’ direction and their relationship to Yanantin, a mountain described as sacred in Andean thought. On this view, the Mandor area may have been more than a transport or support zone: it could have organized ceremonial movement and connected Machu Picchu to a ritual landscape. The hypothesis remains provisional because field evidence has not yet confirmed the route’s purpose.

• The route’s apparent alignment toward Yanantin has led specialists to propose that it may have served a ritual purpose.
• This interpretation would cast Llaqta de Machu Picchu as part of a sacred landscape extending across the river, not merely as a royal residence and its practical hinterland.
• The Mandor Wall may not have been exclusively defensive; the elevated route and surrounding features raise the possibility of ceremonial use.
• The ritual interpretation is provisional because field investigations have not conclusively established the route’s function or chronology.

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