The Lost City of the Incas
Machu Picchu
Location
Andes Mountains
8,000 ft above sea level
Covered with tropical forests of the Upper Amazon Basin
Plateau 2,000 ft above the Urubamba River in the Sacred
Valley
Mystery #1—Why?
• Monument to Inca ruler
• Retreat center for elites
• Religious & ceremonial center
• Fortress or military stronghold
• Coca production
• Survival
When? How? What?
15th century
Built & Abandoned within 100 yrs
Quarry –river rock
No iron, no steel, no wheels
Approx 1,000 people
Religious ceremonies
Agriculture (maize & coca)
Guard a number of roads
The Incas
Growth of an Empire
Diplomacy, intermarriage,
warfare
Size of Empire
Cuzco region became the
administrative center
Fighting within
The Spanish ArriveFrancisco Pizarro + 260 Spaniards
1532
The Conquest
Met with ruler
Tricked and Kidnapped him
Ransom
Murder
Truce
Other Europeans arrived
Destruction
Mystery #2– Why not?
Abandoned before Spanish
No precious artifacts
Too expensive to maintain?
Remoteness
“Forgotten” for 400 years
Until July 24, 1911
Hiram Bingham
Professor of SA history at Yale
Fascinated by lost Inca cities
Try to find Vilcabamba, the last Inca stronghold
Return trips—removal of artifacts
Book Lost City of the Incas
Controversy
1911
Excavation
Work
Today
Temples and Religious stones
Rulers palace and ~200 other dwellings
16 fountains and baths
~ 700 terraces (and a sophisticated drainage system)
Large plaza and small courtyards
Amazing stonework
The Watchman’s Hut
The Funerary Stone
The Fountains
The Intihuatana
The Sacred Rock
Temple of 3 Windows
Stonework
The Terraces
Visiting
UNESCO World Heritage Site (1983)
One of new Seven Wonders of the World
Up to 3,500 people daily
Open daily 6 AM to 5 PM
Inca Trail or bus/train transportation
Inca Trail
The Future--Conservation
Unlimited tourism taking a toll
Plan to limit numbers of visitors
Perhaps closing the Inca Trail 3 months a year