The history of the world has left us with great knowledge. From them, we have evolved, learned from ancient cultures and, if we talk about Latin America (specifically Peru), the Inca people who were in Machu Picchu, were one of the most interesting in the region.
The space occupied by this culture today is a historical place, which leads us to ask ourselves several questions such as: What specifically was this space? When and who discovered it? What happened to this Inca people? If you are looking to learn more, don’t worry, here we will give you all the information you need about this wonderful place.
¿ Who discovered Machu Picchu?
This is a question that does not have a concise answer; however, let’s start with the one that is best known. It is said to have been discovered by Hiram Bingham, an explorer from Yale University in the U.S.A., who visited this village in 1911.
This expedition was guided by local peasants, who knew Machu Picchu completely; ¿however, this leads us to ask ourselves, why is Bingham considered the discoverer of Machu Picchu if many already knew it?
Well, it is given this title because of the dissemination of information that was generated at that time. Although the peasants and Peruvians knew about these historical ruins, they lacked the capacity to make them known to the whole world.
Now, through this exploration, it was possible to take many photos, which were disclosed and sent to all parts of the world by Bingham.
The following year in 1912, Bingham went to Machu Picchu again, but this time more organized and with a team of topographers, geologists and different professionals to help him put together the history that lived in this place.
In this year, through the search and investigation, there was a disguised looting by the U.S., where thousands of archaeological pieces were taken, among which are valuable pieces made of gold and silver.
These should have been returned to the Peruvian government; however, it took an entire century for this to happen. In 2012 only a part of these were returned while thousands of others were lost or are in U.S. museums.
¿ Who was Agustin Lizarraga?
In all this history, there is another character named Agustín Lizárraga, who was a Peruvian peasant who placed his initials in the ruins of Machu Picchu in 1902, 10 years before the American.
The Peruvian farmer manages to find this place in search of new places to plant food for his people.
This discovery by the farmer was the first and was even documented by Bingham; however, at the time of disseminating the information, it was Bingham himself who omitted this part. It should be noted that this does not take away the merit of the discoverer, because unlike Lizárraga, he took the space as a virgin area of history and the farmer was only looking for planting in this place.
¿What was Machu Picchu?
There are 2 theories: The first one places it as a place where the top chiefs had fun and it was a kind of recreational place. This theory is based on the beauty of the place and all the architectural capacity that was made in it.
Now, due to certain parts of it, the second theory describes it as a space for planting and food reserve; however, the important thing about this place is the beauty and complexity of it, which, at the time of its construction, was really advanced.