Machu Picchu History Shows Name a Mistake By Local Farmer, Now Experts Are Trying to Correct It

We might be calling a world heritage the wrong name since its discovery. According to a new study, the Inca city archeological site, which is also known as the Machu Picchu, should be called 'Huayna Picchu,' or simply just Picchu.

The Lost City of Inca

The Inca city was first discovered in 1911 by an American historian and explorer, Hiram Bingham. After witnessing the ancient ruins of the lost civilization, Bingham asked a local, specifically a certain landowner in the place, to write the site's name in his journal.

The farmer who Bingham exchanged information with was the place's farmer Melchor Arteaga. The local wrote in the explorer's journal the words 'Macho Pischo.' According to Bingham's accounts, the phrase sounded more to 'pecchu' than how it was written when pronounced aloud.

For more than a century, the name was stuck in historical records and literature. But in the 1990s, some experts doubted the name, stirring a follow-up investigation about the Inca city's true name.

At the dawn of the 20th century, the lost city of Inca was still not known in many parts of neighboring regions, including Cusco. However, the couple of mountains covering the ruins on both sides are more popular to the locals.

Most images taken from the city ruins consist of small and large peaks. The lesser, steep peak is what is considered as the 'Huayna Picchu,' while the greater, sloped peak at the southern part is called the 'Machu Picchu.'

Bingham ensured that, before their expedition, the information they gathered would lead them to the right path and, ultimately, the discovery of Inca. Science Alert reported that, according to the explorer's journal, a leader of a nearby town, Adolfo Quevedo, referred to the ancient site as Huayna Picchu.

More farmers reported to Bingham's team that Huayna Picchu's ruins were scattered across the place during the research. In addition, some ruins were placed on top of the Machu Picchu mountain, but with smaller structures compared to Huayna Picchu.

Bingham finalized his journal by writing 'Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu,' as the label for the site. Although Arteaga seemingly led the established name of the ruins to Machu Picchu, the farmer was referencing the ruins of Huayna Picchu.

Calling Machu Picchu the Wrong Name More than 100 Years

According to the authors of the new study, since Arteaga resided in a place at the base of the mountain and possibly visited the Huayna Picchu ruins more than a few times through climbing, Bingham did not bother to ask the name.

Bingham took the name based on the conversation with Arteaga, ignoring what other people told him prior to the discovery. The explorer was not baffled, even though it was already accounted for in the nearby town of Urumba that the locals call the ruined city Huayna Picchu.

In 1904, the Inca city was already referred to as Huayna Picchu by a separate explorer, just a few years before Bingham's exploration.

Early historical Spanish letters that existed years before Bigham's travel to the Inca city also mentioned the town as 'Picchu' or 'Huayna Picchu, 'but there was no inclusion of the word 'Machu Picchu.'

Even Bingham's journals present substantial evidence that was overlooked by previous studies. Many accounts and conversations iterated 'Huayna Picchu,' which matched some of the explanations recorded in the earlier Spanish documents.

The study was published in the journal Nawpa Pacha, titled "The Ancient Inca Town Named Huayna Picchu."

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