July 24 1911 is known as the date
of the "discovery" of the famous Inca citadel of
Machu Picchu, an architectural treasure that had
remained hidden for over four centuries under the
lush vegetation of the Urubamba canyon. This find
was made by the controversial American
anthropologist and historian with a penchant for
archaeology (or, if you like, the explorer),
Professor Hiram Bingham of Yale University.
Although the discovery is attributed to Bingham,
according to the
Cusco researcher, Simone Waisbard, the find was
a chance one, since its first discoverers were
apparently Enrique Palma, Gabino Sanchez and Agustin
Lizarraga, who left their names engraved on one of
the rocks there on July 14, 1901. Moreover, the
Anglo Saxon archaeologist was really looking for the
city of Vitco, the last refuge of the Incas, and
their last bastion against the Spaniards. Thus, the
importance of Bingham's discovery would lie in the
scientific diffusion of the information. However,
for the protagonist of this discovery, it was the
crowning of an exhausting research effort, based on
information obtained from local peasants, as well as
on several years of traveling and exploring the
area.
Before Machu Picchu was discovered, it probably
formed part of the Qollapani and Kutija estates.
Over the years, the Q`ente hacienda took possession
of the property. The discoverers, Palma, Sanchez and
Lizarraga found a local indian, Anacleto Alvarez,
who had been paying a rent of twelve soles a year
for farming rights on the property during the last
eight years, living there.
The owners of the fundo would never have been able
to explore the whole place, due to its sheer size,
and especially because of its jagged topography.
People had, in fact, been living in Machu Picchu
without having an idea of its size nor of its
importance, let alone being able to inform the world
of these things. |