[Illustration: MONOLITHIC GATEWAY AT TIAHUANACO]
We are indebted to Dr. Hiram Bingham and his Peruvian Expeditions for
the interesting picture material in this number of The Mentor. Dr.
Bingham (Lieut.-Colonel Bingham) became interested in South America
when he was in Yale University, and in 1906 he took an expedition over
the historic march of Bolivar from Venezuela to Colombia. Two years
later, when Colonel Bingham was appointed a delegate to the first Pan
American Scientific Congress at Santiago, Chile, he went there by
way of Bolivia and Peru, and, while in Peru, he visited the ruins of
Choqquequirau (meaning the “cradle of gold”), said to be the last home
of the Incas.
* * * * *
Colonel Bingham’s studies led him to think that the legend was wrong.
So, in 1911, he set off to Peru, with a party of six, his objects
being to hunt for “Vitcos” (the name of the last home of the Incas)
and to make an ascent of Corropuna, reputed to be a rival of Aconcagua
for the honor of being the highest mountain in South America. The
expedition was very successful. Corropuna was scaled, and found to be
somewhat lower than Aconcagua. Vitcos was found at Rosaspata and not at
Choqquequirau. The reputed bottomless lake of Parinaccochas was found
to be no more than four feet in depth, and, best of all, Machu Picchu
was discovered.
* * * * *
All this was so important that the National Geographic Society decided
to assist in another expedition to carry on the good work. Accordingly,
the Peruvian Expedition of 1912, under the auspices of Yale University
and the National Geographic Society, was sent out. It cleared the way,
photographed and mapped Machu Picchu, and made many other explorations.
A report of this expedition was received with so much interest, and the
pictures were considered so beautiful, that the Peruvian Expedition
of 1914-1915 was organized under the same auspices. This expedition
accomplished a great amount of additional work in the way of map making
and archeological research, collecting flora and fauna from districts
previously unvisited, and determining the location of several rivers.
* * * * *
A vast amount of important historical material has been gathered by
these expeditions, and The Mentor is very fortunate in being permitted
to use photographs collected in the course of the expeditions, and in
having a member of the party as author of this article. In connection
with Mr. Hardy’s account of the Incas, Colonel Bingham writes to The
Mentor as follows:
“Within the confines of the ancient Inca empire, the
archeologist can find a field for work, which, in the beauty of
its natural surroundings, and the healthfulness of its climate,
together with the interest lent by the present-day inhabitants,
is equal, if not superior to, any other part of the earth’s
surface.
“In the past, its comparative inaccessibility has been a very
great deterrent to systematic work in the regions once occupied
by the Incas. Now, better steamship connections with the rest
of the world, and increasing railway mileage within, have
greatly lessened the transportation difficulties.
“The solution of the problem of man in the Andes has only
begun, and it is to be hoped that American students will have
many future opportunities to enter this field of research.”
[Illustration: W. D. Moffat