Built in the 15th century during the height of the Incan Empire’s power, Machu Picchu is an Inca citadel sitting high atop the Andes Mountains of Peru. While there is some evidence that European explorers had first reached Machu Picchu at some point during the mid-nineteenth century, the location was only formally discovered in 1911.
The discovery was made by an American historian named Hiram Bingham. Bingham traveled to the region as part of an expedition from Yale searching and cataloging ancient Inca structures. The primary means by which the expedition gleaned the location of these remnants was by asking the locals for information. It was through this method that Bingham was eventually led to Machu Picchu.
At the time that Bingham found the site it was overgrown, with only a portion of ruins actually visible. Noting the architecture to be in unusually good condition, Bigham later returned with a team for excavation. Numerous artifacts were found during the course of their excavation that were then shipped back to Yale.
While perfectly legal, this earned the ire of the previously supportive local population. It was then that rumors began to spread about the Yale team smuggling artifacts out of the country. These rumors were ultimately unsubstantiated, but local opinion had soured nevertheless.
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There is some evidence of human sacrifice at the site, though the practice appears to have been rare, with other forms of sacrifice having been far more common. The stones of the structures are highly polished in order to fit together perfectly without the use of mortar. This technique, called ashlar, was a staple of Inca architecture.
The site was designed as a summer estate for the Inca monarchy, though it saw little use. The site was abandoned shortly after the Spanish conquest which occurred only a century after its construction, with most of its inhabitants likely having died of smallpox.
Despite centuries of neglect, Machu Picchu remains a great feat of architecture and is truly worthy of being a wonder of the world. For more on Machu Picchu check out The Mystery of Machu Picchu!
Featured Image from Sebastian Tapia Huerta/Unsplash
