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Due to the circumstances in which
the discovery by Bingham took place, the importance of Machu Picchu as
only gradually recognized. In 1911 there was only e bridle path which led
to the nearby outlying areas. a work performed in building a railway line
from ' Cuzco began in 1913. This line finally reached the region Machu
Picchu, via Aguas Calientes, in 1928, and con‑ to the final destination on
its route, Quillabamba. the initial excavations Bingham reached the area
by a ad which was cleared in 1909. From this point he bean to explore the
region described in his work up until '1915. These were years of
successive discoveries. But above all they were months and months of
arduous physical work. The neglect and undergrowth which the structures
had undergone damaged the area. Furthermore,the climate and the heavy
rains erased im‑ testimonies of their former inhabitants. Therefore, it is
not surprising that little is known and much remains to be discovered and
reconstructed.
The limited testimonies regarding
Machu Picchu have led to an endless number of popular stories about the
urea. Explorers, travelers, historians and archaeologists ,have also
attempted to determine the reasons for what Chas been discovered and to
reconstruct a memory which is difficult to determine with certainty. F
Nevertheless, in recent years, more specifically in the 1970's, studies
and documents, supported by well planned and demanding expeditions, have
allowed the historian Edmundo Guillen to finally discard with certainty
the statements made by Gingham which considered Machu Picchu as the ,final
refuge of the Inca rebels». During the years in which they sought refuge
from the Spanish siege, the final Inca leaders lived in an area which was
much further inland, known presently as Espiritu Pampa. Here the Incas,
and with them the Augustinian friars, spent their final days.
What is not known with full accuracy
is when the Incas settled in the region. There are indications that the
Inca Pachacuti era could have been the period in which the Incas moved
towards the Machu Picchu area. The name of Inca Pachacuti is always
associated with the Inca presence throughout the Andes. This figure can be
dated in the mid or latter part of the 15th century, perhaps approximately
forty or fifty years before the Spaniards began to control the Andean
region. Machu Picchu is considered to be one of these occupied lands. The
valleys near the city of Cuzco, especially the Yucay valley, with the
lands of Urubamba and Ollantaytambo, are regions which marked the point of
entry for Inca colonization of the summit and the forest. Machu Picchu
could have served as an excellent and quite suitable port of entry.
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