1. The Lost City of the Incas Machu Picchu

2. Location

3. Andes Mountains 8,000 ft above sea level Covered with tropical forests of the Upper Amazon Basin Plateau 2,000 ft above the Urubamba River in the Sacred Valley

4. Mystery #1—Why? Monument to Inca ruler Retreat center for elites Religious & ceremonial center Fortress or military stronghold Coca production Survival

5. When? How? What? 15 th century Built & Abandoned within 100 yrs Quarry –river rock No iron, no steel, no wheels Approx 1,000 people Religious ceremonies Agriculture (maize & coca) Guard a number of roads

6. The Incas Growth of an Empire Diplomacy, intermarriage, warfare Size of Empire Cuzco region became the administrative center Fighting within

7. The Spanish Arrive Francisco Pizarro + 260 Spaniards 1532

8. The Conquest  Met with ruler  Tricked and Kidnapped him  Ransom  Murder  Truce  Other Europeans arrived  Destruction

9. Mystery #2– Why not?  Abandoned before Spanish  No precious artifacts  Too expensive to maintain?  Remoteness  “Forgotten” for 400 years  Until July 24, 1911

10. Hiram Bingham Professor of SA history at Yale Fascinated by lost Inca cities Try to find Vilcabamba, the last Inca stronghold Return trips—removal of artifacts Book Lost City of the Incas Controversy

11. 1911

12. Excavation Work

13. Today  Temples and Religious stones  Rulers palace and ~200 other dwellings  16 fountains and baths  ~ 700 terraces (and a sophisticated drainage system)  Large plaza and small courtyards  Amazing stonework

14. The Watchman’s Hut

15. The Funerary Stone

16. The Fountains

17. The Intihuatana

18. The Sacred Rock

19. Temple of 3 Windows

20. Stonework

21. The Terraces

22. Visiting  UNESCO World Heritage Site (1983)  One of new Seven Wonders of the World  Up to 3,500 people daily  Open daily 6 AM to 5 PM  Inca Trail or bus/train transportation

23. Inca Trail

24. The Future--Conservation  Unlimited tourism taking a toll  Plan to limit numbers of visitors  Perhaps closing the Inca Trail 3 months a year