Encyclopedia of the Incas

Research suggests that Machu Picchu may have transformed over the period of
its occupation from a defensive outpost near a frontier, in the early years of its
founding, to serve in its heyday as the showpiece of a ruler’s royal estate.
Indeed, a document from 1568 indicates that all of the lands from Torontoy,
downriver from Ollantaytambo, to Chayllay, downstream from Machu Picchu,
once formed part of a densely occupied area of Inca towns and agricultural
complexes earmarked as properties of the ruler Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui’s
panaca. The document mentions a place called “Picho” and notes that “Indians”
from Picho paid tribute to Spanish officials in coca leaves. Although some
scholars believe that Picho refers to Machu Picchu, picho or picchu means
“peak” in Quechua and could signal any number of places.