Details the status of contemporary research on Incan civilization, and addresses mysteries of the founding and abandonment of Machu Picchu, charting its archaeological history from 1911 to the present.

First published in the 1950s, this is a classic account of the discovery in 1911 of the lost city of Machu Picchu. In 1911 Hiram Bingham, a pre-historian with a love of exotic destinations, set out to Peru in search of the legendary city of Vilcabamba, capital city of the last Inca ruler, Manco Inca. With a combination of doggedness and good fortune he stumbled on the perfectly preserved ruins of Machu Picchu perched on a cloud-capped ledge 2000 feet above the torrent of the Urubamba River. The buildings were of white granite, exquisitely carved blocks each higher than a man. Bingham had not, as it turned out, found Vilcabamba, but he had nevertheless made an astonishing and memorable discovery, which he describes in his bestselling book LOST CITY OF THE INCAS.

"An exploration of the questions scholars have concerning Machu Picchu, an Inca archaeological site in Peru. Features include, fact boxes, biographies of famous experts on the Inca and Machu Picchu, places to see and visit, a glossary, further readings, and index"--

Presents a detailed study of Machu Picchu's construction. Tells as much about the practical challenges of building a city as it does about the mysterious Inca.

Christopher Heaney takes the reader into the heart of Peru's past to relive the dramatic story of the final years of the Incan empire, the recovery of their final cities and the fight over their future. Drawing on original research in untapped archives, Heaney portrays both a stunning landscape and the complex history of a region that continues to inspire awe and controversy today. --from publisher description

Machu Picchu, recently voted one of the New Wonders of the World, is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, yet it remains a mystery. Even the most basic questions are still unanswered: What was its meaning and why was it built in such a difficult location? Renowned explorer Johan Reinhard attempts to answer such elusive questions from the perspectives of sacred landscape and archaeoastronomy. Using information gathered from historical, archaeological, and ethnographical sources, Reinhard demonstrates how the site is situated in the center of sacred mountains and associated with a sacred river, which is in turn symbolically linked with the sun's passage. Taken together, these features meant that Machu Picchu formed a cosmological, hydrological, and sacred geological center for a vast region.