Lost City of the Incas. the Story of Machu Picchu And

1 j 17 O £/ O] the Incas HIRAM BINGHAM yK Praise for Lost City of the Incas ‘Machu Picchu was to Hiram Bingham the crowning of all his purest dreams as an adult child’ Che Guevara ‘A handsome edition complete with Hugh Thomson’s fine introduction and superb photographs; it is the classic adventure’ Irish Times ‘Bingham catalogues his finds with admirable concision, and indulges his wide interests, revealing little-known facts about the Incas — their sophisticated system of roads and runners allowed fish to be caught in the Pacific and served fresh at the Inca’s Andean table. He captures the majesty of the architecture in its dramatic and wild surroundings and Hugh Thomson has illustrated the book beautifully from Bingham’s innumerable photographs’ Literary Review Anyone who has been to Machu Picchu must read Hiram Bingham’s classic tale of discovery, Lost City of the Incas' Wanderlust SEP 2013 By Hugh Thomson THE WHITE ROCK An Exploration of the Inca Heartland ‘It is a measure of Hugh Thomson’s skill as a writer, histo- rian and explorer that The White Rock is such a pleasure ... a moving and meticulously researched account of the Inca people’s rise, conquest of a continent and tragic annihilation by the conquistadors of the 16th century’ Justin Marozzi, Spectator ‘Engrossing ... the sort of book that fires the armchair traveller with a desire to follow in its author’s footsteps, it is not just because passionate about its subject . but also because it tells of some quite heroic exploration by Thomson himself’ Geoffrey Moorhouse, New York Times Book Review ‘In The White Rock, the whole continent becomes a plot with suspense and a cast of outrageous characters . This is Bruce Chatwin with cojones. More than that, it is a micro-allegory of the saga of fantasy, bravado, conquest, and the frustration that is the collective narrative of the Inca hunters’ Andy Martin, Independent ‘ The White Rock has a moral depth and intellectual integrity most similar work lacks’ Rhode Island Providence Journal ‘It is Thomson’s generosity of spirit which stands out and makes this a great book ... a work that is both access- ible and academically rigorous’ Isabel Cockayne, Eastern Daily Press COCHINEAL RED Travels Through Ancient Peru ‘A dizzying tour through five turbulent millennia. The cumulative effect is enthralling’ Sara Wheeler, The Times ‘What makes Cochineal Red such a worthwhile book is that it is written by someone who is both an explorer and a scholar’ Toby Green, Independent ‘Epic - in an increasingly homogeneous world, he has found, and describes to perfection, a mythical land’ Publishing News ‘Conveys not only Thomson’s great knowledge of the ancient civilisations of the Andes, but also the thrill of the chase for such knowledge’ Matthew Parris, Spectator ‘A fascinating, intelligently told tale, full of intriguing revelations, that penetrates deeper into the Andean past than previously attempted’ Traveller Magazine ‘The picture of ancient Peru that bleeds through these pages is of a place so removed from our own world as to be the nearest we can get to encountering an absolutely alien mindset’ Daily Telegraph ‘Reminds us that the world is not, after all, explored’ Benedict Allen, Independent on Sunday , Books of the Year By Hiram Bingham Journal of an Expedition across Venezuela and Colombia Across South America Inca Land Machu Picchu, a Citadel of the Incas Lost City of the Incas By Hugh Thomson The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland Cochineal Red: Travels Through Ancient Peru Machu Picchu and the Camera Nanda Devi: A Journey to the Last Sanctuary Tequila Oil: Getting Lost in Mexico 50 Wonders of the World Hiram Bingham was born in Hawaii in 1875 and educated at Yale, where he later taught. His early expeditions to South America and climactic discovery of Machu Picchu were just the start of a long and colourful career: he went on to command air force troops in France during the First World War and to become a Senator; he was later impeached. Lost City of the Incas, written towards the end of his life in 1948, is a final distillation of the many articles and books on the Incas that he had published before. He died in 1956. Hugh Thomson has led several research expeditions to Peru to locate and study Inca ruins. He has written about Machu Picchu and the Incas in both The White Rock and Cochineal Red. See www.thewhiterock.co.uk. LOST CITY OF THE INCAS The Story of Machu Ficchu and its Builders HIRAM BINGHAM with an Introduction by Hugh Thomson Phoenix A PHOENIX PAPERBACK First published in Great Britain in 1952 by Phoenix House Illustrated edition first published in Great Britain in 2002 by Weidenfeld &c Nicolson This paperback edition published in 2003 by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books Ltd, Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9EA An Hachette UK company 13 Reissued 2011 Lost City of the Incas © The Estate of Hiram Bingham 1952 Introduction © Hugh Thomson 2002 The right of Hiram Bingham to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Distributed in the United States by Sterling Publishing Co, Inc 387 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016-8810 USA A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-8421-2585-4 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic The Orion Publishing Group’s policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. www.orionbooks.co.uk CONTENTS List of Illustrations xii Maps xiv Introduction xxi Bingham’s Photographs of Machu Picchu xliii Acknowledgements lii Preface 23 PART ONE: THE BUILDERS 1 The Incas and their Civilization 29 2 The Origin of the Incas 62 3 The Story of the Last Four Incas 71 PART TWO: THE SEARCH 4 My Introduction to the Land of the Incas 111 5 The Search for Vitcos 132 6 The Search for Vilcapampa 155 PART THREE: MACHU PICCHU 7 The Discovery 179 8 Exploration of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu 188 9 Vilcapampa the Old 197 10 Results of Excavations at Machu Picchu 223 11 The Search for Inca Roads leading to Machu Picchu 250 12 The Origin of the City now called Machu Picchu 263 Acknowledgements to Original Edition 272 Bibliography 275 Further Reading 277 Index 279 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS YALE PERUVIAN EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHS (19II-I915) Hiram Bingham in front of his tent at Machu Picchu, 1912 ( page vii) Plate Section 1 Hiram Bingham, with mule, at the end of the 19 11 expedition. Hiram Bingham with other members of the Yale expedition and Peruvian dignitaries at the end of the successful 19 11 expedition. Poster issued with the National Geographic issue of April 1913. Excavation under Nusta Isppana, ‘the White Rock’, 1912. ‘One of our bearers crossing the Pampaconas River.’ ’ ‘Saavedra and his Inca Pottery. ‘Deep in the jungle of the Pampaconas River ‘Inca gable at Espiritu Pampa.’ ‘Heald’s bridge across the Urubamba, 1912.’ Plate Section 2 View of Machu Picchu from the expedition’s camp at the start of the 1912 season. Same view of Machu Picchu, showing progress of clearance by August 17th. ‘The Sacred Plaza before Excavation.’ ‘Defences of Machu Picchu.’ Machu Picchu: the Industrial Sector, showing clearance in progress. The Sacred Plaza from the South. ‘The Intihuatana of the Inca builders at Machu Picchu.’ George Eaton excavating near the West Wall of the Principal Temple, 1912. ‘The first burial cave at Machu Picchu containing a human skull.’ List of Illustrations xiii ‘Dr Eaton and his Indian helpers during the excavation of a human skeleton.’ Machu Picchu: the ‘ stone mortars'. ‘The Ancient Road leading into Machu Picchu.’ Expedition member photographing Machu Picchu, 1912. LINE DRAWINGS MADE BY THE YALE PERUVIAN EXPEDITIONS Machu Picchu: ‘the use of eye-bonders and roof-pegs’ (page 35). Machu Picchu: ‘how the city gate might have been fastened’ (page 35). Plan of Nusta Isppana (page 152). Plan of Llactapata (page 174). Plan of Palcay (page 175). Bridge-building over the Urubamba (page 190). Machu Picchu: ‘Three-Door Group’ (page 206). Machu Picchu: ‘Unusual Niches Group’ (page 206). Machu Picchu: ‘Ingenuity Group and Private Garden Group’ (page 208). Machu Picchu: ‘The Sacred Plaza’ and ‘Birds Eye view of Sacred Plaza and Snake Rock’ (page 21 1). The central part of Machu Picchu (page 218). Trails around Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu (page 251). As well as the many prints from the Yale Peruvian Expeditions that are in private collections, full sets were placed at the Peabody Museum in Yale, the National Geographic Society and the Hispanic Society of America. Whenever possible, Bingham’s original captions for the Yale Peruvian Expedition photographs have been used. These are indicated by italics. MAPS The Inca Empire xv The Area Around Cuzco xvi—xvii The Vilcabamba xviii—xix To San Miguel Idma • Espi'ritu Pampa 4600ft Conservidayoc /oi<n i* Vilcabamba I (Eromboni | Pampa) V j ^ \ ! •^vrv 4 Vupanqui^VV ^ 8600ft \ r r -a y x TLucma 10.500ft \C\ •' Puquiura * A A v,tcos < Rosa spata l o.oooft Ccolpo Cosa pass >>*._, // ) 12,400ft/ ^“-^^-YHoancacal'e 9600” Vilcabamba liT-....

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