Yale Bulletin and Calendar

January 17, 2003|Volume 31, Number 15|Two-Week Issue

Two Yale archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was not a spiritual center or retreat for defeated Inca, as once believed, but a summer retreat for the society's elite.

Peabody exhibition sheds light
on mysteries of Machu Picchu

While on an expedition high in the Peruvian cloud forest in 1911, Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham discovered what has been described as one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world -- Machu Picchu.

A new exhibition opening this month at the Peabody Museum of Natural History uses the findings of two modern-day Yale archaeologists to shed light on the origins and uses of the site, which has survived in a near-pristine state since the Inca abandoned it in the early 16th century.

"Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas" is the largest exhibition on the Incas ever assembled in the United States and one of the largest undertakings in the Peabody Museum's history. The show, which opens on Sunday, Jan. 26, reflects the research and findings of Richard L. Burger, professor of anthropology and former director of the Peabody Museum, and Lucy C. Salazar, Peabody manager.

While Bingham believed that Machu Picchu had been occupied for centuries, research by Burger and Salazar shows that it was active for less than 100 years. Although some scientists have speculated that Machu Picchu was a spiritual center or a refuge for defeated Inca, the Yale archaeologists have determined that it was a summer retreat for the Inca elite from Cuzco, the empire's capital -- spiritual center or a refuge for defeated Inca, the Yale archaeologists have determined that it was a summer retreat for the Inca elite from Cuzco, the empire's capital -- what Burger describes as "the Inca equivalent to Camp David."

According to the archaeologists, this "country palace" situated in the Peruvian Andes was populated seasonally by the ruling Inca and several hundred craftsmen and other servants necessary to carry on the affairs of estate and government.

"In our exhibition we show that Machu Picchu was a royal estate built by Inca Pachacuti, the first imperial ruler of the empire, in 1450," says Salazar "A special caste of metallurgists and craftsmen lived in Machu Picchu and served the Inca elite." These workers were well-fed and well-treated, she notes.

Of the retreat's location, Burger says: "Pachacuti may well have picked out the site simply because it was so beautiful. The Inca were connoisseurs of highland panoramas, and they had an aesthetic about stonework and mountain views."

The exhibition also sets straight the composition of the population at Machu Picchu, which was "much more varied than people had appreciated," says Burger. "Today, when people look at the ruins in Peru, it's easy to forget the sort of complexity that existed in Inca times." Machu Picchu was the melting pot of the Inca empire, he notes, "more like New York than an isolated rural village in Peru, in terms of its cultural population. The people living in Machu Picchu were brought there from all over the empire. They were from different ethnic groups and spoke different languages. They had all been brought together in part to serve these Inca rulers."

The exhibition is designed to be visitor-friendly. Drawing on the latest technology, it provides an interactive learning experience that explores the scientific methodology behind the archaeological process. Dioramas, topographic models, thematic video displays and computer interactives inform visitors about the legacy of the Inca, and an interactive laboratory shows how archaeologists in the 21st century interpret the 15th century.

Visitors can "travel" into the past -- first to Machu Picchu with Hiram Bingham and the 1911 Yale Peruvian Scientific Expedition, and then further back to the 15th century when Machu Picchu functioned as an Inca royal estate. Visitors can view a panorama of the high-altitude cloud forest of Peru, walk along a replica of an ancient Inca road, take a self-guided interactive tour of the Inca palace complex and inspect an Inca burial chamber. On entering the house of the Inca king, they will find a life-size mannequin of the king, whose gold jewelry and alpaca tunic have been reproduced specifically for the exhibition by craftsmen in Peru.

Central to the exhibition are some of the finest surviving examples of Inca art, many of them recovered from Machu Picchu, including over 400 gold, silver, ceramic, bone and textile artifacts, along with photographs and other memorabilia. These materials are used as a springboard for a discussion of archaeological science and the way in which knowledge of relevant aspects of ecology, astronomy, metallurgy, human biology and other scientific subjects have proved to be critical in understanding the purpose of Machu Picchu and why it was abandoned.

As director of the Peabody Museum 1995 through December of 2002, Burger was responsible for raising the considerable funds necessary to stage the exhibition. Major support comes from federal, state and private foundations, including the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Connecticut Humanities Council and The William Bingham Foundation, as well as numerous individual donors. A gala previewing the exhibition and honoring its donors will take place the evening of Saturday, Jan. 25. For more information about the exhibition and special viewing hours, call (203) 432-9891 or e-mail peabody.special.events@yale.edu.

The exhibition will continue through May 4, when it begins a two-year tour of five major venues before returning to the Peabody for permanent installation. Those venues include the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Chicago's Field Museum and one other venue still to be named.

The Peabody Museum of Natural History, located at 170 Whitney Ave., is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children (3-15) and seniors (65 and over). Parking is available in the Peabody Visitor Parking Lot, entrance off Whitney Ave. one block north of the Museum; follow signs inside the entrance. For directions, events, or other general information call (203) 432-5050 or visit the website at www.peabody.yale.edu.

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