The Intihuatana was chiseled out of a larger piece of granite rock and presumably used for casting shadows for astronomical observations. In the Quechua language, Intihuatana translates to “a place to which the sun is hitched,” which is a direct reference to the positioning of the rock structure at a high point within the Machu Picchu.
The Intihuatana stone is a ritual stone which was used by the Incas. The stone is designed to point directly at the Sun during the winter solstice.[108] The name of the stone (perhaps coined by Bingham) derives from Quechua language: inti means "sun", and wata-, "to tie, hitch (up)". The suffix -na derives nouns for tools or places. Hence Intihuatana is literally an instrument or place to "tie up the sun", often expressed in English as "The Hitching Post of the Sun". The Inca believed the stone held the Sun in its place along its annual path in the sky. The stone is situated at 13°9'48" S. At midday on 11 November and 30 January, the Sun is situated almost exactly above the pillar, casting no shadow. On 21 June, the stone casts the longest shadow on its southern side, and on 21 December a much shorter shadow on its northern side.
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