Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Archaeology - Essay Example The white conquers spreading of disease and war is thought to have driven the royal family and servants from Machu Picchu. This is a fascinating subject that can be researched with pleasure. Machu Picchu is an abandoned Inca site. Although it is thought that Hiram Bingham (2004) â€Å"discovered† the city, a few others had been there before (219). MacQuarrie (2008) reports Bingham found the engravings of â€Å"M. Eugene de Sartiges, 1834†, â€Å"Jose Maria Tejada, Marcelino Leon, 1834†, â€Å"Jose Benigo Samnez, Juan Manual Rivas Plata, Mariana Cisneros, 1861†, and â€Å"Pio Mogrovejo, July 4, 1885† (384). Bingham was the first to bring attention to the city. Machu Picchu is located between the ridges of Machu Picchu (hence the name) and Pisac in the South American country, Peru according to D’Altroy (2003:127). The find of an intact abandoned Inca site was a major discovery for archeology and architectural studies. Machu Picchu allowed for the study of the Inca way of life and architectural ways. Bingham according to Burger and Salazar (2008) removed artifacts from the site to examine at Yale University (2). Machu Picchu has been explored by many more scientists and tourists since Bingham’s discovery in 1911 of the site D’Altroy (2003) (21). The majestic Inca site has been an uncovered jewel ever since. The Incas were a South American people before the Spanish conquest. D’Altroy (2003) explains Incas did not have a written language, but did have an oral history that has passed traditions down through the generations (121). Without the oral traditions, little or no knowledge might have been known about the Incas. The Spanish records after the Spanish expedition into also provide an insight into the Inca way of life, but only from an invader’s perspective Burger and Salazar 2005:2). Incas did share their oral traditions with the Spanish, but