I've seen it done by re-enactors. You pull, push and cuss a stone into place and then push it from one side, then the other, until it has worn away to a good fit. Much better stonelaying technique than mortaring the stones, especially in earthquake country.

Sleds were used. Due to the limited compressibility of wood you can place huge weights on it and it will retain its strenght and shape (it will not be crushed).

Originally posted by Hanslune
Sleds were used. Due to the limited compressibility of wood you can place huge weights on it and it will retain its strenght and shape (it will not be crushed).

Unfortunately, such a sensible solution to the problems of moving large stones has too high a yawn-factor, so it's often ignored in favor of "alien anti-gravity beams".

Originally posted by Gawdzilla

Originally posted by Hanslune
Sleds were used. Due to the limited compressibility of wood you can place huge weights on it and it will retain its strenght and shape (it will not be crushed).

Unfortunately, such a sensible solution to the problems of moving large stones has too high a yawn-factor, so it's often ignored in favor of "alien anti-gravity beams".

That is quite possibly the most absolute best quote i've ever read on ATS. I tip my hat to you. It's just toooooo true.

Of course then theres the question of how they lifted these enormous stones into place- not to mention cutting them to a perfect (and I mean perfect) interlocking fit...truly amazing..

There are a couple of stones that make up the wall at Sacsayhuaman that weigh in excess of 100 tons.

Originally posted by PhotonEffect
Of course then theres the question of how they lifted these enormous stones into place- not to mention cutting them to a perfect (and I mean perfect) interlocking fit...truly amazing..

There are a couple of stones that make up the wall at Sacsayhuaman that weigh in excess of 100 tons.

Good question. (About the lifting, anyway.) The building techniques were probably the "Manhattan Project" of their day, a state secret. This didn't necessarily mean nobody knew about them, just that committing them to a permanent record was taboo. If you had wall paintings showing that people did the work it would be harder to claim the god built your city just for you.

This is possibly the reason we don't see much depiction of the pyramid building in Egypt. Which is better mojo? "The guys got together and built it." OR "The sun god Ra willed it into existence!"

I once saw some program explain that there is a bird in the area that hacks it's nest in solid stone. How it did that was that it used some plant that apparently softened the stone to the point a bird could dig a hole into it. It said that it was being investigated but I haven't heard anything since and can't remember what program that was. I always thought that if the incas used this softening technique it would explain the perfect fit of the stones. Anyone else see this and remember the program?

Originally posted by PsykoOps
I once saw some program explain that there is a bird in the area that hacks it's nest in solid stone. How it did that was that it used some plant that apparently softened the stone to the point a bird could dig a hole into it. It said that it was being investigated but I haven't heard anything since and can't remember what program that was. I always thought that if the incas used this softening technique it would explain the perfect fit of the stones. Anyone else see this and remember the program?

Interesting. Does the plant permanently soften the stone or only temporarily? You'd have to have quite a bit of it to do the walls pictured in the OP, true?

I cant remember much details. It might've been a red flower that the birds chew up. It crew near some major river. Cant recall if it permanently softened stone or not. If anyone has any more details pls post

Originally posted by PhotonEffect
Of course then theres the question of how they lifted these enormous stones into place- not to mention cutting them to a perfect (and I mean perfect) interlocking fit...truly amazing..

There are a couple of stones that make up the wall at Sacsayhuaman that weigh in excess of 100 tons.

Exactly the above mentioned examples of how they worked them are great for the smaller stones but when we get up to the 50+ ton ones I can't see how they moved them with sleds along cobblestone path and then rubbed them back and forth to fit so tightly. I'm not saying "Aliens" did it. I'm just wondering how they did it when it comes to their largest stone. And what about the multifaceted ones? How did they undercut to make it fit so tightly? You cant rub it from underneath.





Take a look at this one here for example. See where the lady is standing with the child? Notice the stone edge she is facing. Tell me how they moved a stone that huge back and forth to "Rub" it into place.

It seems to me it would have just been easier to cut them square.