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Hiram Bingham, a descendant of missionaries, was the person who
discovered Machu Picchu for the
modern world and science. He was an American historian born in Honolulu,
Hawaii.. He studied South American History and Geography at the
University of Yale. Once exercising his profession, he was chosen as one
of his country's delegates to the First Pan-American Scientific Congress
in Chile, in 1908.
Years previously, Bingham had been interested in the Indian legends
about the Llacta of Vitcos or Viticos, the rebel Incas' last refuge from
the Spaniards in the jungle of Vilcabamba, epically narrated by the
chroniclers of that time. Arriving in Chile, his interest in the
legendary Inca city of Vitcos and the Vilcabamba valley was renewed.
His first mountain exploration trip in 1906 was also his first attempt
at finding Vitcos, the last imperial capital and the refuge of Incas
rebelling against the Spaniards. That year, he traveled along the Buenos
Aires - Cusco route, the old colonial trade route. After his long trip
to Cusco, he was informed of the existence of lost cities in the tangled
jungle and jagged ranges of the Urubamba mountains.
However, he already knew of some references by chroniclers to Vitcos,
the presumed capital of Manco II, and of others from the book by the
English traveler Charles Wienner, who was in the region around 1876,
collecting references from locals on the areas of Machu Picchu and
Huayna Picchu in order to include them within the Santa Ana valley map.
He started off for the city of Abancay, the natural gateway to that part
of the jungle where Vitcos was supposed to be. Around that period, there
were many myths circulating about the likelihood of finding Inca
treasure, which according to tradition had been taken by Manco Inca on
his retreat to Willkapampa, so treasure hunters abounded. Local guides
took him to some imposing local ruins we now know as Choquequirao, the
seat of the Tawantisuyo in modern Abancay, an eight-hour trip from
Cusco.
Bingham remained unimpressed. Vitcos, or the city of Viticos, that he
dreamed about, must be yet more impressive, he thought. This very
obsession drove him to further study of the chroniclers, and even of the
Spanish archives.
Nevertheless, his appetite whetted by this first discovery, Bingham
returned to the U.S. to collect funds for further exploration, obtaining
support from the National Geographic Society and the University of Yale,
as well as some funds contributed by family and friends. Finding Vitcos
was no longer of mere academic interest, but had become a well-planned
venture.
In 1911 he returned to Peru to carry out geological and botanical
studies, with the conviction he would find Willkapampa.
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