The location of Vitcos (veet´-kos), or Pitcos (peet´-kos), the home
of the Inca Manco after he fled from Cuzco to the wilds of Vilcabamba
(veel-kä-bäm´-bä), was one of the questions which students of Inca
history had never answered. Arm-chair archeologists and historians
had selected the site of Choqquequirau (chok-kā-kee-rä´-oo) (cradle
of gold), which consists of a series of extensive ruins above the
Apurimac (a-poo-ree´-mak) River near Abancay (ä-bän-ca´-ee). His visit
to these ruins convinced Dr. Hiram Bingham, of Yale University (now
Lieut.-Colonel Bingham), that Vitcos and Choqquequirau could not be
identical.
Accordingly, in 1911 he conducted an expedition to Peru, one object of
which was to find a place that would fit the descriptions of the Inca’s
retreat as given by the early Spanish historians, some of whom, _i.e._,
Father Antonio de Calancha (än-to´-nee-o day cä-län´-chä) and Baltasar
de Ocampa (bäl-tä-sär´ day o-cäm´-pä), had actually visited Vitcos.
The expedition went down the Urubamba (oo-roo-bäm´-bä) Valley
to the mouth of the Vilcabamba River, crossed the Chuquichaca
(choo-kee-chä´-cä) Bridge, and went up the Vilcabamba Valley,
finding place after place which tallied with the accounts of Ocampo
(o-käm´-po) and Calancha (cä-län´-chä). Above the little town of
Puquiura (poo-kee-oo´-ra) were encountered ruins now called Rosaspata
(ro-säs-pä´-tä). Careful study has proved that these fit, in every
detail, the description of the Inca’s last home.
While on his way to Vitcos, Colonel Bingham was fortunate enough
to discover the ruins of Machu Picchu. Although the problematical
existence of these ruins had long been known, no one had ever taken
the trouble to climb to the top of the ridge and make certain as to
their location. In so doing, Colonel Bingham came upon ruins whose
magnificent beauty alone makes them of more than ordinary interest,
but doubly important is the discovery because in Machu Picchu we seem
to have found at last the Tampu-tocco (tämpoo-tok´-ko) of early Inca
legends.
The selection of Paccari-tampu (päk´-ka-ree-tam´-poo) as Tampu-tocco
has never seemed justified. The slight similarity in name, the
location of a few ruins and natural caves in that vicinity, and the
non-existence of any place which had a better claim, made up the
evidence to substantiate the theories of those who wished to call
Paccari-tampu the cradle of the Inca race. Machu Picchu, as shown by
Colonel Bingham,[1] corroborates in every detail the descriptions of
Tampu-tocco given by all the historians.
[1] See The Story of Machu Picchu, by Hiram Bingham. Nat. Geo.
Mag., Feb., 1915, and Vitcos, ibid., Proceedings of the Am.
Antiquarian Soc., April, 1912.
In addition, it appears that Machu Picchu may also be Vilcabamba, the
old, the mysterious place three days’ journey from Vitcos, to which,
as told by Father Calancha, two monks were taken by the Incas while
they were in that region seeking his conversion. No situation at all
plausible has ever been suggested for this mythical locality. Granting
that Machu Picchu is Tampu-tocco, the presence of two distinct cultures
and skeleton remains, chiefly of women and effeminate men, would seem
to indicate that on his retreat to Vitcos the Inca Manco made use of
the wonderfully concealed first home of the Incas to provide safe
retirement for the priests and priestesses of the Sun.
A very important part of the work of modern archeology lies in
identifying the location of the cities and towns which have a place in
Inca tradition and history. The finding of the first and last home of
the Incas by Colonel Bingham’s expeditions is only the beginning of a
great deal of similar work which awaits the archeologist in Peru.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 6, No 3, SERIAL No. 151
COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.