Inca religious beliefs impacted the layout of their cities and the planning of their architectural design and the design of their public spaces. The same is true for the Aztecs, who stressed the importance of astronomy in layout and design. The situation of the site in relation to its natural surroundings was also critical in both cases, perhaps more so for the Incas, who constructed Machu Picchu at a high altitude and rugged, undulating, uneven terrain. Hierarchies were heavily embedded in Inca worldview, evident in the positioning of cities like Machu Picchu at altitude. In fact, symbols of hierarchy are embedded everywhere at Machu Picchu, "especially in a ceremonial context," (Nair, 2015, p. 124). The same can be said for the Aztecs, for whom order and cosmic hierarchal structure served a crucial social and political as well as cosmological function. Aztec architecture like that of Teotihuacan reflects hierarchy as much as Incan architecture. Both Incan and Aztec architecture and urban planning emphasize the importance of directionality and layout; no design element or use of space is totally arbitrary. Objects and elements are situated purposely, in relation to one another or often, as with religious structures, in relation to geological and cosmological features including the sun, moon, or stars or alternatively, mountains. Religious beliefs focusing on hierarchy, power, and order informed the layouts of both Machu Picchu and Teotihuacan.Teotihuacan is the older of the two sites by several centuries, as it was constructed in the first several centuries of the common era, roughly concurrent with the beginnings of Christianity halfway around the world between the first and seventh ("Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan," n.d.). However, the site was inhabited long before Teotihuacan reached the pinnacle of its power. The layout of Teotihuacan reflects an affinity with the natural surroundings, geographic and geological features, and also the cardinal directions determined by the orientation of the sun to the earth. By the time Teotihuacan became a fully-fledged city, it was clear that it had been oriented on a north-south axis, with several pyramids flanking the main corridors. Moreover, the Aztecs redirected the course of the San Juan River to "cross the Avenue of the Dead," a clear sign of the power of human beings to control nature, alter the course of fate, and direct human as well as non-human activities ("Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan,"...

In fact, symbols of power are crucial elements in the architecture, design, and layout of the Aztec city. The power of the Aztec rulers was conveyed using a number of symbols, not least of which are the sheer size and dimensions of the structures and the ability for the landscape architects to redirect the course of a river. However, a closer look reveals that power is also implied in the mastery of geometry and engineering principles, giving rise to the pyramidal structures and their clean, geometric lines.
Geometry also features prominently at Machu Picchu, where many structures are rectangular at the base but taper towards the top as with a trapezoid -- not quite like a pyramid but similar in concept (Cartwright, 2014). Power was conveyed through the geometric precision used to construct the edifices at Machu Picchu and not just its temples, but the temples demonstrated the fusion of human and divine power. Gold was the way the Incas would convey their power; the structures were once adorned heavily with gold but their ruins no longer display this ornate design element. Also integral to the display of great wealth and power were the structures known as ushnu, which are like panopticons in that they are viewing platforms that are as symbolic in function as they are in form. Just as water served a critical element in the construction of Teotihuacan, the Incas also "went to special care to provide the sight and sound of flowing water, or falling water," (Wright, 1994). Both Teotihuacan and Machu Piccu demonstrate the blending of natural and human-made elements, their architects reflecting the core tenets of their respective guiding religions. Harmony with the natural surroundings was important, but control of and dominance over that surrounding also proved important.

Both Inca and Aztec structures mirror the cosmos. Cosmological elements like the sun, moon, and stars were important to Inca and Aztec worldviews and worship, making their way into layout and design. Both have temples dedicated specifically to one or another cosmological body, with Teotihuacan being overtly designed so that a temple to the sun and moon occupy different geographic spaces within the complex of the city. The sacred moments of death and birth were also of central importance to both religions, which demarcated not only sacred space but also sacred points in time. Points in time could be commemorated via ritual ceremony notating signifying moments like rites…