Peru Information

• Cloud forests can regrow in 3 years, with vegetation reaching 40 ft
• Llamas were used for wool, pack transport, and meat
• Peru is one of the most geographically diverse countries on Earth
• Has rainforests, including the Amazon
• Has mountains over 24,000 ft
• Has deserts and sand dunes
• Has one of the deepest canyons, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon

The Incan Empire

• Inca Empire spanned 2,500 miles
• Population 10 million
• Capital: Cusco
• Peak years: 1438-1532
• Sites were built in coordinated alignment across vast distances
• Advanced road network connected the empire
• Messages traveled 1,000+ mountainous miles in 12 days
• Fresh fish was transported 300 miles inland for the emperor
• Walkable routes from southern Colombia to central Chile
• Sophisticated water channels and fountains still function today
• Stone foundations in Cusco remain tightly fitted despite centuries of earthquakes
• Machu Picchu’s purpose remains debated: royal estate, religious center, or school

The Incas’ Last Days

• 1519 – Hernán Cortés began conquering the Aztecs
• 1520 – Francisco Pizarro arrived in Panama, inspired by Cortés
• 1528 – Learned of “Birú” and gained royal approval for conquest
• 1532 – Returned with 180 soldiers, horses, and guns
• 1532 – Kidnapped Emperor Atahualpa
• 1533 – Executed Atahualpa after receiving 6+ tons of gold; installed Manco Inca
• 1536 – Manco revolted, captured Sacsayhuamán, besieged Cusco
• 1537 – Incas retreated to Vitcos, then Vilcabamba
• 1539 – Civil war among Pizarro faction
• 1541 – Pizarro assassinated
• 1544 – Manco assassinated
• 1545 – Sayri Túpac became ruler
• 1558 – Titu Cusi Yupanqui succeeded him
• 1571 – Túpac Amaru became emperor
• 1572 – Spaniards conquered Vilcabamba and captured Túpac Amaru
• July 24, 1572 – Túpac Amaru executed; seen as end of the Incan empire

Bingham’s Early Years

• 1875 – Hiram Bingham III born in Honolulu
• 1892 – Attempted to stow away to Africa
• 1894 – Entered Yale University
• 1897 – Met Alfreda Mitchell (Tiffany fortune heiress)
• 1899 – Completed master’s at UC Berkeley
• 1900 – Began Harvard PhD in South American history; married Alfreda Mitchell
• 1905 – Recruited by Woodrow Wilson to teach at Princeton
• 1905 – Explored Venezuelan and Colombian Andes with Hamilton Rice
• 1909 – First trip to Peru; became captivated by Cusco
• 1909 – Heard legends of the “Lost City of the Incas”
• 1911 – Set out to search for the Lost City of the Incas

‘Finding’ Machu Picchu

• July 1911 – Bingham heard of “Huayna Picchu / Machu Picchu”
• Paid a local guide to lead him up the mountain
• Climbed ~80 minutes through dense forest on all fours
• Found ruins occupied by local farmers renting the land
• Observed white-granite walls and views over the Urubamba River
• Stayed less than five hours
• Continued down the valley and did not revisit
• Reached Espiritu Pampa but was unimpressed
• Returned to New York
• Claimed “discovery” of Machu Picchu
• Yale and National Geographic funded a second expedition

Subsequent Expeditions

• 1912 – Bingham returned to Peru but expedition seen as a failure
• Peru began protecting indigenous heritage
• Allowed U.S. artifact export but retained right to request returns
• 1913 – Nat Geo published special on Machu Picchu, boosting attention
• 1915 – Returned to Peru; charged with illegal excavation artifacts
• 1916 – Served in WWI, commanding ~8,000 men in the National Guard
• 1922 – Elected Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut
• 1924 – Became Governor, then U.S. Senator
• 1933 – Censured and removed from Congress for lobbying violations
• 1948 – Published Lost City of the Incas, framing himself as discoverer of Machu Picchu
• Evidence shown that the Lost City of the Incas was Espiritu Pampa, not Machu Picchu