MACHUPICCHU

In 1911, Hiram Bingham believed that he had found Manko Inka's Vilcabamba in Machupicchu; that is demonstrated wrong today because the exact location of that city and some other sites stated in chronicles are already known. On the other hand, today it is frequently asked how 150 or 180 Spaniards, the first ones who arrived here, could conquer so easily the Inkan Civilization that had from 12 to 16 million people; what is true, is that it was not a consequence of their physical power neither of their privileged wisdom, but simply because when the invaders arrived here there was a bloody civil war. Qosqo was always Tawantinsuyo's capital, its legitimate monarch was Thupa Kusi Wallpaq, whom history knows as Waskar Inka who had a step brother named Atawallpa that wanted to usurp power moving himself to Tumipanpa in present day Cuenca, Ecuador, where he crowned himself as the new Inka. Atawallpa was willing to overthrow his step brother, who after some battles was seized in October, 1532; subsequently, the Spaniards arrived to the Peruvian coasts and in November entered into the city of Cajamarca. Spaniards seized Atawallpa who from his imprisonment ordered to murder Waskar and all the Cusquenian "orejones" ("big eared people" = the Inkan nobility).

As soon as they were told about the happenings, the Spaniards blamed and sued Atawallpa and imposed the death sentence upon him. After having murdered Atawallpa, they went towards Qosqo, where they were...
welcomed believing that they were avengers of the Inkan Capital because they had murdered its enemy. Moreover, they were considered as gods because they were so different, had white skin, beard, fire weapons, horses; and even, Quechuas believed that horse and Spaniard were a single being, able to split into two. Besides, it was also believed that they were divinities because there was an old myth that stated that the Inkas' gods had to arrive by ship, exactly how Spaniards did. Because of all those reasons they were accepted and welcomed in the Quechuas' Capital. Its inhabitants made them know everything they had, their palaces, temples, towns and cities; but, by that time no one said anything about Machupicchu because it seems that it was a very special and secret city or otherwise it was already lost and forgotten. The archaeological evidences state a total Spanish absence, there are no influences in pottery or architecture, and the "idolatry extirpators" (Catholic priests) did not destroy its temples as it happened in every spot known by Spaniards; thus it is supposed that Spaniards did not arrive and perhaps did not know anything about Machupicchu.
Because of its location strategically established for its protection, because of its number of temples and their architectonic quality, because of the small amount of "kanchas" (apartments for extended families), and because of the several characteristics that Machupicchu presents: originally, it was a regional power center dependent from Qosqo. That is, it was a small religious and political capital. Surely, it served as a dwelling for the Inka or any high ranked dignitary from the Capital, as well as for a selected nobility that had the privilege of having an "Aqllawasi" that was something like a monastery for "Chosen Women" or "Virgins of the Sun" devoted to cult and for service of its privileged population too. Most modern archaeologists and historians state that Machupicchu was made built and used by Inka Pachakuteq, who was the Tawantinsuyo's greatest statesman and ruled from 1438 to 1471, as his "Royal Farmstead". Scholars use for this assertion the chronological dating given by the carbon 14 or radiocarbon, its doubtless "Imperial Inka" architectonic style, the predominant ceramic pieces, and some other scientifically valid facts. Even more, the archaeological evidences discard totally any possibility of pre-Inkan settlements in this region.
According to the buildings that are found in the Inkan City, the population during its apogee is calculated to have been about 1000 people. According to the mummies found by the Bingham expedition about 80% of the Machupicchu population were women; that is the strong support to assert that over here existed an important "Aqllawasi" (House of Chosen Women), chosen among the prettiest and most virtuous, they were considered as the Sun's wives. Many modern scholars suggest that a large part of them were the Inka's wives too, considering that he was the son of the Sun; therefore, a living god. Thus the Inka lived in his property, along with his wives. It was normal for the Inka to have hundreds of concubines, and for example, our history states that Wayna Qhapaq who was father of Waskar and Atawallpa had more than 400 children. Nevertheless, his main wife must have been a sister of his; only that way they could keep the "solar blood" that they supposedly had. The throne heir had to be a son of the Inka and his sister.

Today, the reasons that led to depopulation of the Inkan City are unknown; although, some hypothetical reasons that are in a logical frame are outlined. It is believed that once there was a very bad epidemic that led to the abandonment of the city built in a humid zone with an abundance of different insects. Even until the first decades of this century different epidemics were reported frequently in this area, especially malaria; today several chemical products are being used in order to fumigate the environment, so the sanitation conditions were modified. Another possibility suggests that it had to be abandoned and closed after the death of the sovereign who built and used the city.