Q
QUARRYING AND STONECUTTING
Although the majority of Inca structures are built of uncut stone assembled with
clay mortar, of adobe brick, or both, the architectural style is still best known for
its tightly fitting cut stone masonry assembled without mortar. This masonry
style has been marveled at ever since the Spanish conquerors first saw it. One
eyewitness, for example, said, “And what one admires most is that, even though
these [stones] . . . are not cut straight, but differ in size and shape, they fit
together with incredible precision without mortar” (Acosta 1962 [1590]).
This abandoned stone in a field was destined for the Inca settlement of
Ollantaytambo in the Urubamba valley and came from the rockfalls of Kachiqata, 5
kilometers (3 miles) distant on the opposite bank of the river. Adriana von Hagen.How Inca builders—who lacked iron tools and the wheel—cut stone, achieved
the tight fit, and transported and hoisted the stones (some of which weigh over a