Among the most iconic archaeological and historic sites on Earth, Machu Picchu is one of the most famous since Hiram Bingham introduced it in 1911. But recent research suggests Bingham may have been confused when he first announced the name of the ancient Inca city. So what's the name?
Situated high above the Urubamba River in the Peruvian Andes, this archaeological treasure sits on a narrow saddle between two mountain peaks. The larger one, reaching a height of about 3,000 meters above sea level, is known as Machu Picchu. While the smaller one, which reaches 2,700 meters above sea level, is called Huayna Picchu.
According to a new study Nawpa Pacha: Journal of the Institute of Andean Studies, the famous settlement was originally named after the shorter peak, and was therefore known to the ancient natives of the region as Huayna Picchu.
The study's authors reached this conclusion after reviewing Hiram Bingham's field notes, as well as local maps made in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as old documents produced by Spanish colonial rulers hundreds of years earlier.
By doing so, as quoted by IFL Science, they were able to unravel the mystery of the site's real name and retell the story of how Bingham mistakenly identified his find.
For example, researchers note that the Peruvian atlas created by Carlos B. Cisneros in 1904, seven years before the Bingham expedition, includes a town called 'Huaina-Piccho' in the mountains above the Urubamba River.
Looking further back in time, the author finds this name kept in an account written by the owner of the Spanish hacienda shortly after the conquistadores took over the area.
One of these documents, written in 1588, tells how the natives of nearby Vilcabamba intended to return to the ancient settlement of 'Vayna Piccho', where they planned to renounce Catholicism and return to practice their native religion. Meanwhile, the second record from 1714, lists the ancient Inca city as 'Guayna Picho'.
However, by the time Bingham set out in search of the ruins, the site had long been forgotten, leading him to describe it as "an Incan city whose name has been lost in the shadows of the past."
Nonetheless, his field notes reveal that he was told by the Urubamba subprefect that the place he was looking for was indeed called Huayna Picchu.
The confusion started, there was a man named Melchor Arteaga here as well. He lived near these pre-Columbian ruins and served as Bingham's guide in 1911.
After leading the explorers into the city, Arteaga explained that the place was known as 'Macho Pischo'. However this was later opposed by Ignacio Ferro, whose father owned the land on which the site was located and who informed Bingham that the old town was actually called Huayna Picchu.
According to the study's authors, Bingham's decision to use the name Machu Picchu was based on an early misunderstanding that has been repeated without any criticism over the last century.
They also note that there was no reference to the Incan city of Machu Picchu before news of Bingham's visit exploded around the world in 1912.
Based on these findings, they concluded that the Inca city was originally called Picchu, or more likely Huayna Picchu, and that the name Machu Picchu became associated with larger ruins starting in 1911 with the publication of Bingham.