BINGHAM’S DISCOVERY Most people say that Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu But Machu Picchu couldn’t really be discovered because Peruvians always knew it was there Today when someone says that a person discovered a place it sometimes means that the person rediscovered the place and made it famous This more informal definition holds true in the case of Bingham discovering Machu Picchu Hiram Bingham
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FACT In the Incan language Machu Picchu means Old Mountain or Old Peak The large peak that towers over Machu Picchu is Huayna Picchu This means Young Peak or Young Mountain THE INCAN EMPIRE The Incan Empire was the biggest empire ever to exist in either North or South America At its height it stretched about 2,500 miles 4,000 kilometers along the west coast of South America This is almost as long as the United States is wide The empire included parts of modern-day Peru Colombia Bolivia Chile Argentina and Ecuador empire a large territory ruled by a powerful leader
SOUTH AMERICA Machu Picchu Lima Cuzco Inca Capital PACIFIC OCEAN Incan Empire 1532 0 300 600 mi 1 000 km 0 500 The Incan Empire was the largest of its kind in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans in 1532
FINDING MACHU PICCHU After Bingham arrived in Peru a local farmer told him about some ruins Following the farmer’s directions Bingham’s group climbed up a mountain ridge The snow-capped peaks of the Andes surrounded them Suddenly Bingham was staring at a huge maze of white stone buildings partially hidden by the jungle Bingham realized they might be the most impressive ruins ever found in Peru He had found not the Incan fortress but rather Machu Picchu This discovery made Bingham famous Many historians now call him a real-life Indiana Jones Machu Picchu
