About Machu Picchu Inca Citadel – Machu Picchu History

About Machu Picchu. A brief Machu Picchu history, which in Quechua means “old mountain.” It is the contemporary name given to a llaqta (city) or ancient Andean settlement, built in the mid-15th century on the rocky promontory connecting the Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains, on the central Andes eastern flank, at the beginning of the Amazon rainforest and at an average altitude of 2,450 meters / 8,000 ft, 112 kilometers/69.6miles northwest of Cusco, Peru.

Its original name may have been:

• Patallaqta (pata = above / llaqta = city) = city that is above
• Rumillaqta (rumi = stone / llaqta = city) = city of stone
• Machu Picchu (Machu = old // Picchu = mountain) = old mountain or
• Huayna Picchu (Huayna = young // Picchu = mountain) = young mountain.

According to documents from the mid-16th century, Machu Picchu, the Inca city, may have been one of the administrative, economic, religious, military, and political centers of the Inca Empire, built during the reign of the ninth emperor, Pachacutiq, between 1438 and 1570. He was the first Inca (ruler) to transform and change the political system of this great civilization. However, Machu Picchu is one of his architectural and engineering masterpieces, with excellent urban planning and unique architectural and landscape features, suggesting that this place was more than meets the eye. It has also become the icon of Peru and one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet.

Machu Picchu Inca citadel’s Rediscovery

Machu Picchu, the Inca city, was scientifically rediscovered on July 24, 1911, by American Hiram Bingham. The first references to visitors to Machu Picchu indicate that Agustín Lizárraga, a land tenant from Cusco, arrived on July 14, 1902, guiding Cusco residents Gabino Sánchez, Enrique Palma, and Justo Ochoa. The visitors left graffiti with their names on one of the walls of the Temple of the Three Windows, which was later erased by Bingham.

There is information suggesting that Lizárraga had already visited Machu Picchu in the company of Luis Béjar in 1894. Hiram Bingham was guided by another tenant of the land, Melchor Arteaga, and accompanied by a sergeant of the Peruvian civil guard, Carrasco. Bingham was very impressed by what he saw and obtained sponsorship from Yale University, the National Geographic Society, and the Peruvian government to immediately begin the scientific study of the site.

Thus, with the support of a team of professionals and the participation of local residents, Bingham directed the archaeological work at Machu Picchu between 1912 and 1915, during which the undergrowth was cleared and the Inca tombs were excavated.

Machu Picchu public life’s Recognition.

The public life of Machu Picchu, the Inca city, began in 1913 with the publication of all the work carried out in an article in National Geographic Society magazine.