History of Machu Picchu
Archaeological evidence uncovered around the site suggests that the area was first used for agricultural purposes back inĀ 760 B.C.
The war ofĀ Vilcambamba PachacutecĀ in 1440 established the first settlementĀ at the site. It was called the Tahuantinsuyo Empire which was later followed by the formation of theĀ government of Manco Capac.
It is thought that Machu Picchu was firstĀ inhabited by 300-1000 inhabitants, who were ofĀ the highestĀ Class or "llactas".
The valleys around these areas were important for their agricultural contribution,Ā however afterĀ death of the Emperor Pachacutec, it lost it's importance, with the establishment of newĀ sites likeĀ OllaytantamboĀ and Vilcambamba. The building of these new sites by his successors, in more accessible terrain made Machu Picchu less appealing.
From 1527 to 1532, two brothersĀ HuĆ”scarĀ andĀ AtahualpaĀ foughtĀ against each other inĀ a civil warĀ over the Inca Empire. Their father, Inca Huayna Capac had given each brother a section of the empire to manage, one in HuĆ”scar in Cuzco and Atahualpa in Quito. When Huayna Capac and his heir, Ninan Cuyuchi, died somewhere between 1525 and 1527, the two brothers Atahualpa and HuĆ”scar went to war over who should rule.Ā Ā The population who had come to live in the Machu Picchu area from rural or remote locations left after the war ended to return to where they came from. Later another brother,Ā Manco Inca was sent into exile inĀ Vilcambamba, andĀ Machu Picchu wasĀ deserted.
Antonio Raimondi was an ItalianĀ geographer and scientistĀ fromĀ MilanĀ whoĀ visited Machu Picchu in 1851. In 1867 Augusto Berns arrived to mine the site.
Hiram Bingham re-discovered the ruins in 1911. HeĀ documented and publicised his "discovery".
Hiram Bingham
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