On July 24, Peru marks 100 years since Hiram Bingham, a Yale professor sponsored by the National Geographic Society, came upon the vine-covered ruins. Bingham and his team, with the approval of the contemporary Peruvian government, cleared the site, excavated and presented Machu Picchu to the world in high romantic style (you can read Bingham´s original National Geographic piece about the discovery and browse his incredible photos here). They also brought thousands of artifacts home for study, thus initiating 100 years of conflict.

Since that long-ago July, Bingham has been heralded as a hero and reviled as a looter. He has become known as the “scientific discoverer” of Machu Picchu as it has become clear that other visitors, Peruvian and foreign, gazed on those ancient stones prior to his arrival. Peru has hotly demanded the artifacts and cooled off when other matters pressed the nation. Attitudes about cultural patrimony have dramatically shifted. Ideas about what Machu Picchu was have changed.

Most spectacularly, Peru sued Yale for the Machu Picchu artifacts and won a victory that brought the vast majority of them home to Cusco this year.

Today, thousands of people flock to Peru to marvel at what has become a new wonder of the world. They surely contemplate the Inca stones and consider the ancient lives that were lived there. And on the eve of the anniversary of Machu Picchu´s introduction to the world, it is fitting to consider the more recent history of this special place. It speaks to the complex patrimony of Peru and its complicated relationship with its indigenous past and present. It covers nation-building in South America and the tense relationship with the United States. And, it addresses modern questions about the ownership of culture.

To help us sort through some of this, I called in Christopher Heaney, who graciously offered to answer some questions about the discovery of Machu Picchu.

Chris is a scholar of Latin American history and has trained his detailed researcher´s eye on the conflict between Yale and Peru. His investigation, both in Cusco and at Yale, resulted in an incredibly compelling book – The Cradle of Gold – that offers the best explanation of how the conflict between the university and the country came about. You can find the book (highly recommended!) on Amazon, and you can read an excerpt and learn more about Chris here.

And now, without further ado, THE INTERVIEW!

Who was Hiram Bingham and how did he come to be searching for Machu Picchu in 1911?
“Hiram Bingham was an archaeologist from Yale University, in the United States. Born in 1875, he was a missionary’s son, righteous, driven, curious, and, according to many, rather superior in nature. Because teaching wasn’t exciting enough for him he began exploring in South America, retracing the footsteps of history. A chance visit to Choqquequirau, the Cradle of Gold, 1909, introduced him to Inca history and from then on he was hooked. What he was looking for in 1911, when he went searching, were the last cities of the Incas, where the last emperors tried to resist the Spanish conquest. Before he could make their acquaintance, however, he was lead to Machu Picchu.”

Are we accurate when we say Bingham “discovered” Machu Picchu?
“Bingham was hardly the first to make it to Machu Picchu. For one, it was a piece of property owned by Inca families long after the conquest. After independence, it grew a little more remote, but a series of landowners and Europeans likely made it there in the late nineteenth century. Moreover, it was certainly known and visited by residents of the region, many of them of indigenous descent, who wrote their names on its walls. And, of course, when Bingham was led to the site by an innkeeper from the Urubamba below, there were three indigenous families living and farming in the ruins. So Hiram Bingham hardly discovered the ruins – but as many Peruvians have noted since as early as 1912, he was the site’s “scientific discoverer,” promoting its study and fame in the outside world. He also deserves praise for following the trail of the Incas well past Machu Picchu to the true last cities of their emperors.”

How have the perceptions of what Bingham did in Peru changed over the years?
“When Bingham first announced the existence of Machu Picchu, Peruvians in Cusco and Lima celebrated his achievement. But they were also wary, worried that Bingham and his Yale Peruvian Expedition would come back and excavate, which they did, kicking off a century long dispute over the ownership of the artifacts of Machu Picchu. Hiram Bingham himself has gone through different phases of appreciation, but Peruvians today are clear-eyed about what he gave – a platform for Machu Picchu’s fame and study – and what he took away – the contents of nearly 170 pre-Columbian graves, among many other artifacts.”

How have perceptions of Machu Picchu changed since Bingham first published about it in National Geographic? What do we know now, that Bingham didn´t know then?
“Bingham believed that Machu Picchu was not only the birthplace of the Incas, but their grave as well, the last city where they went to die. We now know he was mistaken on both counts, perhaps enchanted by the possibility of such a good story. Instead, we know that Bingham himself reached the last cities of the Incas (Vilcabamba), further downriver, but discounted their importance because they weren’t as beautiful as Machu Picchu. We also know that Machu Picchu was likely built in the mid-15th century by the Inca emperor and architect Pachacutec, as a spiritual and royal retreat outside of Cusco, the Incas’ capital. It was also a key gateway to the eastern slopes of the Andes, rich in tropical produce. Research, however, is ongoing, and scholars are always coming up with new and interesting interpretations.”

How did Peru and Yale come to disagree over the ownership of the artifacts from Machu Picchu? And how was this disagreement resolved?
“The question hinged on whether Peru had only let the artifacts leave for Yale on the condition that they return someday. The archives show that they did, that Peru had had the foresight to claim the artifacts and call for Bingham and Yale to respect the claim. For nearly a century, Yale refused, until a public lawsuit and a savvy media campaign last October and November brought Yale back to the negotiating table. By the end of 1912, all of the artifacts that Hiram Bingham exported from Machu Picchu will go back to Peru.”

Why is it important for Peru and the world to mark the 100 years since this particular discovery of Machu Picchu?
“Because it is far more important than the story of a single explorer hacking through jungle to reach a lost city. Rather, it’s the story of how countless Peruvians and foreigners have come together over the last century to celebrate one of the great wonders of the world, make it known, study and protect it, and even sometimes fight over it. Machu Picchu is one of world’s great cultural and architectural treasures, awakening us to the beauty of indigenous culture and history, and demanding that we care for its future. The first century of Machu Picchu’s fame is over; the next century is about to begin, likely even more glorious than its last.”

Thanks so very much, Chris!

And to all of you, best wishes from Cusco!
Emily