Machu Pichu

Machu Pichu

Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Picchu, "Old mountain") is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meters (7,875 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Taking a Machu Picchu tour is a fascinating way to learn about Inca history, but this 360-degree virtual tour of Machu Picchu also illustrates the site's distinctive architecture.

The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early twentieth century.

History

The collections of artifacts from Machu Picchu at Yale were excavated by Hiram Bingham during his historic Peruvian expedition of 1912. Machu Picchu was not a well-known site then, and Peru's Civil Code of 1852, in effect at the time, permitted the finders of such artifacts to keep them. A presidential decree authorizing Bingham’s excavation (but not superseding the authority of the civil code) contained a provision allowing him to bring the material to Yale for scientific study, and gave Peru the right to request him to return certain “unique” or “duplicate” objects, which it did not exercise in the ensuing period. The materials sent to the Peabody consisted mainly of fragmented pottery, animal bone and other items discarded by the Incas. They also included a small number of used but largely intact personal possessions, such as bowls, left as grave goods in the cave burials of Inca retainers who were buried around the periphery of the site, but no treasures. These items strongly resembled materials found at other Inca sites such as Sacsahuaman and consequently were of little interest to the Peruvian government in 1912.

Bingham returned to Peru for a second expedition in 1914-1915. By then, Peru’s policies regarding archaeological discoveries had changed. As a result, the materials Bingham excavated outside of Machu Picchu during that expedition were loaned to Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History for a finite period of time and these items were eventually returned to Peru after a delay due to World War I. The materials from the 1912 expedition, and items purchased by Bingham in Peru during both expeditions, remained at Yale and were conserved and studied by generations of scholars from Yale and other parts of the world.

Throughout his life, Bingham served many distinguished roles: archeologist, professor, statesman, and elected official. From 1922 to 1933, he served consecutively as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, its Governor, and then its United States Senator. Following his retirement from the Senate, he worked on literary and business matters in the nation's capitol.

In 1948 Peru invited Bingham back to Machu Picchu for the dedication of a new road that would improve access to the historic site. According to a local newspaper report, the elderly explorer was greatly moved by the tributes he received from local dignitaries, government officials and the U.S. Ambassador to Peru. The Peruvian government's representative was quoted as saying that the "Hiram Bingham Highway" would "again unite the prestige of the illustrious professor, Dr. Hiram Bingham, with the destiny of our country."

Select objects from Bingham’s 1912 expedition to Machu Picchu were used in the past decade in an educational exhibition about Machu Picchu developed at the Yale Peabody Museum, which traveled throughout the United States. This exhibit brought the reality of everyday Inca life at Machu Picchu to over one million visitors, broadening their knowledge and appreciation of Inca life and culture.