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MACHU PICCHU: HISTORY OF THE GREAT INCAN CITY

Located on the border of the Andes mountain range and the Amazon rainforest, Machu Picchu provides

beautiful views and equally amazing ruins. The archeological site of Machu Picchu was declared a UNESCO

World Heritage site in 1983 due to its masterpieces of architecture, tremendous examples of city planning, and

an incredible array of views and climate. Although the importance of this site is understood based on massive

religious structures and connecting trails from surrounding significant sites, it is unknown for sure what

exactly Machu Picchu was used for. The ancient Incan city was built in the fifteenth century, most likely by

the “transformer of worlds”, Pachacutec. The title “Machu Picchu” means “old peak” in Quechua, where the

opposite mountain, Huayna Picchu, means “young peak.” The city is massive, holding over 200 buildings for

religious, astronomical, ceremonial, and agricultural purposes. The location of the archeological site is

especially important because the Incas worshipped mountain peaks and had to protect land from the powerful

Chanca tribe. This land could serve for fertile farming, close connections to deities, or military advantages.

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Dr. John D. Rowe studied 16 century documents and indicated that Machu Picchu was most likely an estate

for Pachacutec, although there are plenty of other valid theories. During the Spanish Conquest (around 1550)

Machu Picchu was abandoned to seek protection for cultural treasures and people. The Incas at Machu Picchu

are said to have gone to Vilcabamba, the lost city of the Incas, where the Spaniards eventually defeated them.

From this point forward, Machu Picchu remained farmland for locals and was rediscovered and analyzed

multiple times before Hiram Bingham’s arrival.

HIRAM BINGHAM AND HIS SEARCH FOR FAME

Many believe Yale professor Hiram Bingham was the sole discoverer of Machu Picchu in the year

1911. However, locals were very familiar with the area and used it for farming. There were even other

foreigners that visited the ruins decades before Bingham. The Peruvian explorer Augustín Lizágarra found

the ruins in July of 1902, almost ten years before Bingham’s second voyage to Cusco. Recently, American

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