Editing Machu Picchu (section)

===Encounters with Westerners===
[[File:Machu Picchu and the Urubamba Canyon.jpg|thumb|Panoramic view of  Machu Picchu and the Urubamba Canyon]]
====Spanish conquest====
In the late 16th century, Spaniards who had recently gained control of the area documented that indigenous individuals mentioned returning to "Huayna Picchu", the name that is believed to be originally given to the site by locals.<ref name=":0" /> The Spanish conquistador [[Baltasar de Ocampo]] had notes of a visit during the end of the 16th century to a mountain fortress called ''Pitcos'' with sumptuous and majestic buildings, erected with great skill and art, all the [[lintels]] of the doors, as well the principal as the ordinary ones, being of marble and elaborately carved.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Ocampo |first1=Baltasar |translator-last=Markham |translator-first=Sir Clements |translator-link=Clements Markham |title=An Account of the Province of Vilcapampa and a Narrative of the Execution of the Inca Tupac Amaru (1610) |publisher=York University |publication-place=[[Cambridge, Ontario|Cambridge]] |page=11 |url=https://www.yorku.ca/inpar/ocampo_markham.pdf}}</ref>

Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have been re-discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman, {{ill|Augusto Berns|de}}.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7439397.stm |title= Machu Picchu ruin 'found earlier' |work=BBC News |author=Dan Collyns |date=6 June 2008}}</ref> Some evidence indicates that the German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier. Maps show references to Machu Picchu as early as 1874.<ref>{{cite news |last=Romero |first=Simon |title=Debate Rages in Peru: Was a Lost City Ever Lost? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/world/americas/08peru.html|date=7 December 2008}}</ref> A 1904 atlas designated the site as Huayna Picchu.<ref name=":0" />

====Search for the Neo-Inca capital====
{{Multiple image
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| footer            = Inscription "A. Lizárraga 1902" by [[Agustín Lizárraga|Lizárraga]] on the central window of the Temple of the Three Windows
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In 1911 American historian and explorer [[Hiram Bingham III|Hiram Bingham]] traveled the region looking for the lost capital of the Neo-Inca state (later established to be [[Vilcabamba, Peru|Vilcabamba]]), established by [[Manco Inca]] after the Spanish conquest, and was led to Machu Picchu by a villager, Melchor Arteaga. Bingham found the name of the Peruvian explorer [[Agustín Lizárraga]] and the date 1902 written in charcoal on one of the walls of the Temple of the Three Windows. Initially disappointed, he documented in his pocket field journal: "Agustín Lizárraga is discoverer of Machu Picchu and lives at San Miguel Bridge just before passing."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heaney |first=Christopher |url=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230112049/cradleofgold |title=Cradle of gold: the story of Hiram Bingham, a real-life Indiana Jones and the search for Machu Picchu |date=2011 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|MacMillan]] |isbn=978-0-230-11204-9 |access-date=8 August 2023|location= New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bingham (1875–1956) |first=Hiram |date=2004-01-01 |title=Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10772/10772-h/10772-h.htm |access-date=2023-08-07 |publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]] |language=en-us}}</ref> However, while Bingham initially acknowledged Lizárraga as the discoverer in his early writings and speeches, including ''Inca Land'' (1922), he gradually downplayed Lizárraga's role until, in his final version of the story, ''Lost City of the Incas'' (1952), Bingham claimed to have found the site himself.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=Amy Cox |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZk5DwAAQBAJ |title=Framing a Lost City: Science, Photography, and the Making of Machu Picchu |date=2017-11-22 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-1-4773-1368-8 |language=en}}</ref>

Though Bingham was not the first to visit the ruins, he was considered the scientific discoverer who brought Machu Picchu to international attention. Bingham organized another expedition in 1912 to undertake major clearing and excavation.<ref name="Hiram" />{{rp|xxx–xxxi}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wiener |first=Aaron |date=1 May 2008 |title=Hiram Bingham's Expedition and the Peruvian Response: A Connecticut Yanqui in the Land of the Incas |url=https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/mssa_collections/1 |journal=Kaplan Senior Essay Prize for Use of Library Special Collections |access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref>

====First American expedition====
[[File: Hiram Bingham III at his tent door near Machu Picchu in 1912.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Hiram Bingham III]] at his tent door near Machu Picchu in 1912]]
Bingham was a lecturer at [[Yale University]], although not a trained archaeologist. In 1909, returning from the Pan-American Scientific Congress in [[Santiago]], he travelled through Peru and was invited to explore the Inca ruins at [[Choquequirao|Choqquequirau]] in the [[Department of Apurímac|Apurímac Valley]]. He organized the 1911 Yale Peruvian Expedition in part to search for the Inca capital, which was thought to be the city of [[Vitcos]], reportedly located near the town of [[Torontoy (Peru)|Torontoy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vitcos: The Last Inca Capital |url=https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/45647892.pdf |last=Bingham |first=Hiram |date=1912 |website=American Antiquarian Society. |page=174}}</ref> He consulted Carlos Romero, one of the chief historians in Lima who showed him helpful references and Father [[Antonio de la Calancha]]'s Chronicle of the Augustinians. In particular, Ramos thought Vitcos was "near a great white rock over a spring of fresh water." Back in Cusco again, Bingham asked planters about the places mentioned by Calancha, particularly along the Urubamba River. According to Bingham, "one old prospector said there were interesting ruins at Machu Picchu," though his statements "were given no importance by the leading citizens." Only later did Bingham learn that [[Charles Wiener]] had also heard of the ruins at [[Huayna Picchu]] and Machu Picchu, but was unable to reach them.<ref name="Hiram">{{cite book|last1=Bingham|first1=Hiram|title=Lost City of the Incas|date=1952|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|isbn=978-1-84212-585-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lostcityofincass00bing/page/112 112–135]|url=https://archive.org/details/lostcityofincass00bing/page/112}}</ref><ref name="torreon">{{cite journal |last1 = Dearborn |first1 = D.S.P.|last2 = White |first2 = R.E. |date = 1983 |title = The "Torreon" of Machu Picchu as an Observatory |journal = Journal for the History of Astronomy | series = | volume = 14 | issue = 5 | pages = S37–S49 | doi=10.1177/002182868301400502 | url = https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002182868301400502 |bibcode=1983JHAS...14...37D}}</ref>

[[File: Melchor Arteaga crossing the Urubamba River on 24 July 1911.jpg|thumb|Melchor Arteaga crossing the Urubamba River on 24 July 1911]]

Armed with this information, Bingham's expedition went down the [[Urubamba River]]. En route, Bingham asked local people to show them Inca ruins, especially any place described as having a white rock over a spring.<ref name=Hiram/>{{rp|137}}<ref name="vit"/>

At Mandor Pampa, Bingham asked farmer and innkeeper Melchor Arteaga if he knew of any nearby ruins. Arteaga said he knew of excellent ruins on the top of Huayna Picchu.{{sfn|Bingham|2010}} The next day, 24 July, Arteaga led Bingham and Sergeant Carrasco across the river on a log bridge and up to the Machu Picchu site. At the top of the mountain, they came across a small hut occupied by a couple of [[Quechua people|Quechua]] people, Richard and Alvarez, who were farming some of the original Machu Picchu agricultural terraces that they had cleared four years earlier. Alvarez's 11-year-old son, Pablito, led Bingham along the ridge to the main ruins.{{sfn|Wright|Valencia Zegarra|2004|p=1}}

[[File:Partial view of Machu Picchu in 1911.jpg|thumb|Partial view of Machu Picchu on 24 July 1911, with much of the site covered by dense vegetation.]]
The ruins were mostly covered with vegetation except for the cleared agricultural terraces and clearings used by the farmers as vegetable gardens. Because of the vegetation, Bingham was not able to observe the full extent of the site. He took preliminary notes, measurements, and photographs, noting the fine quality of Inca stonework of several principal buildings. Bingham was unsure about the original purpose of the ruins, but concluded there was no indication that it matched the description of Vitcos.<ref name=Hiram/>{{rp|141, 186–187}}<ref name="vit">{{cite book | last=MacQuarrie | first=Kim | author-link= Kim MacQuarrie | title=The Last Days Of The Incas | publisher=Little, Brown Book Group | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4055-2607-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1w7KARSwgYC |page=255 |access-date=2024-08-21}}</ref>

The expedition continued down the Urubamba and up the Vilcabamba Rivers examining all the ruins they could find. Guided by locals, Bingham rediscovered and correctly identified the site of the old Inca capital, Vitcos (then called Rosaspata), and the nearby temple of [[Chuquipalta]]. He then crossed a pass and into the Pampaconas Valley where he found more ruins heavily buried in the jungle undergrowth at [[Espíritu Pampa]], which he named "Trombone Pampa".<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Geographical Society of Philadelphia]] |title=Bulletin of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia|year=1912|volume=10|chapter=Yale Expedition to Peru|pages=134–136|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=DHBIAAAAYAAJ|page=134}}}}</ref> As was the case with Machu Picchu, the site was so heavily overgrown that Bingham could only note a few of the buildings. In 1964, [[Gene Savoy]] further explored the ruins at Espiritu Pampa and revealed the full extent of the site, identifying it as [[Vilcabamba, Peru|Vilcabamba Viejo]], where the Incas fled after the Spanish drove them from Vitcos.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rodriguez-Camilloni |first1=Humberto |title=Reviewed Work: Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas by Richard L Burger, Lucy C. Salazar |journal=Journal of Latin American Geography |volume=8 |issue=2 |year=2009 |pages=230–232 |jstor=25765271 |doi=10.1353/lag.0.0051 |s2cid=144758591 }}</ref><ref name=Hiram/>{{rp|xxxv}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland |last=Thomson |first=Hugh |author-link=Hugh Thomson (writer) |publisher=[[Hachette UK]] |year=2010 |isbn=9780297866169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZJVDy63SmAC}}</ref>

[[File:Map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912.jpg|thumb|Route map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912]]
Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in 1912 under the sponsorship of Yale University and [[National Geographic]] and with the full support of Peruvian [[Augusto B. Leguía|President Augusto Leguia]]. The expedition undertook a four-month clearing of the site with local labor, which was expedited with the support of the Prefect of Cusco. Excavation started in 1912 with further excavation undertaken in 1914 and 1915. Bingham focused on Machu Picchu because of its fine Inca stonework and well-preserved nature, which had lain undisturbed since the site was abandoned. None of Bingham's several hypotheses explaining the site have since held up. During his studies, he carried various artifacts back to Yale. One prominent artifact was a set of 15th-century, ceremonial Incan knives made from [[bismuth bronze]]; they are the earliest known artifact containing this alloy.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gordon | first1 = Robert B. | last2 = Rutledge | first2 = John W. | title = Bismuth Bronze from Machu Picchu, Peru | journal = Science | volume = 223 | year = 1984 | issue = 4636 | pages = 585–586 | publisher = American Association for the Advancement of Science |doi = 10.1126/science.223.4636.585| pmid = 17749940 | bibcode = 1984Sci...223..585G }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fellman |first=Bruce |date=December 2002 |title=Rediscovering Machu Picchu |url=http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/02_12/machupicchu.html |magazine=Yale Alumni Magazine |access-date=7 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506171545/http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/02_12/machupicchu.html |archive-date=6 May 2016  }}</ref>

[[File:An Architectural Triumph Machu Picchu.jpg|thumb|The Sacred Plaza, the Main Temple, and the Temple of the Three Windows after the 1912 clearing work. Above these structures is the Sacred Hill, which features the [[Intihuatana, Urubamba|Intihuatana]].]]

Although local institutions initially welcomed the exploration, they soon accused Bingham of legal and cultural malpractice.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite journal |last1=Salvatore |first1=Ricardo Donato |title=Local versus Imperial Knowledge: Reflections on Hiram Bingham and the Yale Peruvian Expedition |journal=Nepantla: Views from South |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2003 |pages=67–80 |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/article/40208 }}</ref> Rumors arose that the team was stealing artifacts and smuggling them out of Peru through [[Bolivia]]. In fact, Bingham removed many artifacts, but openly and legally; they were deposited in the Yale University Museum. Bingham was abiding by the 1852 Civil Code of Peru; the code stated that "archaeological finds generally belonged to the discoverer, except when they had been discovered on private land" (Batievsky 100).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvXTcGC5CwQC&q=Peru%E2%80%99s+Civil+Code+of+1852&pg=PA100|title=Art and Cultural Heritage: Law, Policy and Practice|last=Hoffman|first=Barbara T.|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85764-2|page=100|language=en}}</ref> Local press perpetuated the accusations, claiming that the excavation harmed the site and deprived local archaeologists of knowledge about their own history.<ref name=autogenerated1/> Landowners began to demand rent from the excavators.<ref name=autogenerated1/> By the time Bingham and his team left Machu Picchu, locals had formed coalitions to defend their ownership of Machu Picchu and its cultural remains, while Bingham claimed the artifacts ought to be studied by experts in American institutions.<ref name=autogenerated1/>