History
Controversy with Yale University
Geography
Climate

HISTORY

Construction of Machu Picchu began around 1440, at the height of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned just over 100 years later, between 1536 to 1545, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Cusco, the Inca capital, the Spanish never found it and consequently did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew over much of the site, and few outsiders knew of its existence. Machu Picchu was an Inca satellite capital “Llacta”, important settlement constructed between the highlands and the jungle, to administrate the economy of the Amazon and cloud forest regions, plus an agricultural testing station. Different types of crops could be tested in the many different micro-climates afforded by the location and the agricultural terraces; these were not large enough to grow food on a large scale, but may have been used to determine what could grow where, and acclimatize jungle products into the highlands.

Johan Reinhard (American archaeologist) believes Machu Picchu to be a sacred religious site. This theory stands mainly because of where Machu Picchu is located. Reinhard calls it "sacred geography" because the site is built on and around mountains that held high religious importance in the Inca culture and in the culture of peoples who previously occupied the land. At the highest point of the mountain, from which Machu Picchu was named, there are “artificial platforms" which had a religious function, as is clear from the Inca ritual offerings found buried under them. These platforms are also found in other Incan religious sites. The site’s other stone structures have finely worked stones with niches and from what the Spaniards wrote about Inca sites, we know that these types of buildings were of ritual significance. This would be the most convincing evidence that Reinhard cites because this type of stylistic stonework is only found at the religious sites so it was natural that they were included here.

On 24 July 1911, Hiram Bingham announced the discovery of Machu Picchu to scholars. An American historian, employed as a lecturer at Yale University, Bingham had been searching for the city of Vilcabamba, the last Inca refuge during the Spanish conquest. He had worked for months in previous exploration journeys around the Cuzco region. Melchor Arteaga, farmer, led Hiram Bingham to the area where the city was located, finding the first of two local Quechua families, living in the original structures in Machu Picchu and cultivating former Inca lands and agricultural terraces. Pablito Alvarez, a local 11 year-old Quechua boy, led Bingham up to the temple of the Sun, in Machu Picchu.

Bingham started studies and completed a survey of the area. He called the complex "The Lost City of the Incas", which was the title of his first book. Bingham made several more trips and conducted excavations on the site until 1915, collecting thousands of archaeological artifacts which he took back to Yale. Later he wrote a number of books and articles about the discovery of Machu Picchu.
The site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu. In 1981, Peru declared an area of 32.592 square kilometers surrounding Machu Picchu as a "Historical Sanctuary". In addition to the ruins, the sanctuary includes a large portion of the adjoining region, rich with flora and fauna. In 1983 UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization".

 

CONTROVERSY WITH YALE UNIVERSITY

In 1912 and 1914-15, Bingham excavated treasures from Machu Picchu. Ceramic vessels, silver statues, jewelry and human bones were excavated and taken from Peru to Yale University in the United States for further study, supposedly for a period of 18 months. Yale has retained the artifacts until now, under the argument that Peru did not have the infrastructure or proper conditions to take care of the pieces.
Eliane Karp, an anthropologist who is married to the former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, accused Yale of profiting from Peru's cultural heritage by claiming title to thousands of pieces removed by Bingham. Many have been on display at Yale's Peabody Museum since. Yale returned some of the artifacts to Peru, but the University kept the remainder, claiming its position was supported by federal case law involving Peruvian antiquities.
On 19 September 2007, the Courant reported that Peru and Yale had reached an agreement regarding the requested return of the artifacts. The agreement includes sponsorship of a joint traveling exhibition and construction of a new museum and research center in Cusco about which Yale will advise Peruvian officials. Yale acknowledges Peru's title to all the excavated objects from Machu Picchu, but Yale will share rights with Peru in the research collection, part of which will remain at Yale as an object of continuing study. On 19 June 2008, National Geographic Society's vice-president Terry Garcia was quoted by daily La República. "We were part of this agreement. National Geographic was there, we know what was said, the objects were lent and should be returned". On 21 November 2010, Yale University agreed in principle to the return of the controversial artifacts to their original home in Peru.

GEOGRAPHY

Machu Picchu lies in the southern hemisphere, some 13 degrees south of the equator. It is 80 kilometers northwest of Cusco, on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu, located about 2450masl (8,040ft), over 1000m (3,300 ft) lower than Cusco, which has an altitude of 3,400m (11800ft). As such, it had a milder climate than the Inca capital. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in South America, one of the most visited tourist attractions in all of Latin America and the most visited tourist attraction in Peru.
Machu Picchu is situated above a loop of the Urubamba River, which surrounds the site on three sides, with cliffs dropping vertically for 450m (1480ft) to the Urubamba River. The area is subject to morning mists rising from the river. The city sits in a saddle between the two mountains Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, with a commanding view down two valleys and a nearly impassable mountain at its back. It has a water supply from springs that cannot be blocked easily, and enough land to grow food for about four times as many people as lived there. The hillsides leading to it have been terraced, not only to provide more farmland to grow crops, but to steepen the slopes which invaders would have to ascend.

 

CLIMATE

Machu Picchu eco-region extends into the eastern foothills of the Andes, between 1000 to 3800. Temperatures are warm in the lowlands and colder in higher altitudes. There are many endemic fauna because of the isolation caused by the rugged terrain of this area. Always a popular time to properly explore the Machu Picchu area, the dry season enjoys beautifully sunny weather, with clear skies and a pleasant, mild climate, further accentuated by its rather exposed and elevated situation. However, due to the relatively high altitude, nights can feel decidedly cooler and at times, rather cold, with temperatures even approaching freezing on occasion. The year at Machu Picchu is divided between wet and dry seasons, with the majority of annual rain falling from October through to April. It can rain at any time of the year.