Fact #62: 39 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #62: Hiram Bingham III brought back more than 5,000 artifacts from Peru on an expedition funded by National Geographic and Yale University.

Fact #61: 40 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #61: Critics say, somewhat disdainfully, that Hiram Bingham, who was a history professor, lacked the proper training to excavate Machu Picchu.

Fact #60: 41 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #60: Some say that, like the Spanish, Hiram Bingham took what wasn't his on his trips to Peru.

Fact #59: 42 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #59: Spain was, arguably, the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world at one time. Its coffers surely benefited from the infusion of riches from Peru.

Fact #58: 43 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #58: Spain called its conquered lands the "Viceroyalty of Peru," ruling for 300 years.

Fact #57: 44 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #57: It's unclear why Machu Picchu was abandoned, but some say it may have been because water was scarce. (That seems unlikely, given the attention to engineering and hydrology at the site, as evidenced, partly, by the irrigation system.) Others blame the Spanish conquest.

Fact #56: 45 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #56: Machu Picchu was abandoned in the mid-16th century.

Fact #55: 46 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #55: No one is certain exactly when Machu Picchu was built, but best guesses suggest it was some time around the mid-15th century.

Fact #54: 47 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #54: Machu Picchu, it's postulated today, probably was a vacation spot for royalty.

Fact #53: 48 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #53: Later research showed that the remains found at Machu Picchu were not all women, and the idea that it was a sanctuary of sorts for the Virgins of the Sun was discarded.

Fact #52: 49 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #52: The Virgins of the Sun were an elite group who took a vow of chastity. They were not of noble blood, but their leader, a high priestess, was.

Fact #51: 50 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #51: The early explorers, led by Hiram Bingham, were unclear about the purpose of Machu Picchu. Remains found at the site allegedly were all women, leading some to believe it was the sanctuary of the Virgins of the Sun.

Fact #50: 51 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #50: Machu Picchu is hard to see from below. It is in a cloud forest (note to visitors: Mornings are often foggy) and has been overgrown.

Fact #49: 52 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #49: If the Spaniards failed to find Machu Picchu, perhaps it's because they were distracted by their desire for the spoils of war, which is partly what led to disagreements between Diego de Almargo and Francisco and Hernando Pizarro.

Fact #48: 53 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #48: Francisco Pizarro was killed by the son and supporters of his partner, Diego de Almargo, who had been executed by Pizarro's brother, Hernando.

Fact #47: 54 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #47: Francisco Pizarro easily took over the city of Cuzco. Two years later, he founded Lima, where he died in 1541.

Fact #46: 55 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #46: In 1533, Atahualpa was executed, and explorer Francisco Pizarro began his march to Cuzco.

Fact #45: 56 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #45: Amazingly, Francisco Pizarro's men, who numbered less than 200, overcame 4,000 or so Incans and captured Atahualpa, the Incan ruler.

Fact #44: 57 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #44: In November 1530, Francisco Pizarro and Atahualpa, the Incan ruler, were to meet in Cajamarca, an Incan city in northern Peru. Pizarro told Atahualpa to give himself to Christ and the Spaniards, and when he refused, Pizarro decided to attack.

Fact #43: 58 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #43: The governor of Panama thought the expeditions foolish, so Francisco Pizarro went to Spain to speak directly with the emperor, who said yes. Off Pizarro sailed.

Fact #42: 59 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #42: Pizarro and his partner, Diego de Almargo, and a priest, Hernando de Luque, sailed down the west coast of South America twice.

Fact #41: 60 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #41: Francisco Pizarro seems and unlikely player in that drama. He was a bit of a puzzle. Once, the explorer was marked as unambitious, but after a stint as mayor of a city named Panama (in, not surprisingly, Panama), he turned his attention to South America.

Fact #40: 61 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #40: Where once there was an Incan empire, now there was a Spanish empire that endured for 300 years.

Fact #39: 62 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #39: The conquistadors played a huge role in Peru, of course. Led by Francisco Pizarro, they claimed the land for Spain in the 1500s.

Dear 16-year-old me

Hello everyone,

I hope you have all been enjoying the sunshine and wonderful weather that we have had so far this summer :) Before you all head out to bask in the sun for hours, I think it would be worthwhile for you to watch this video:

Dear 16-year-old me talks about the risks of skin cancer and how to prevent it. It is a powerful way of telling the story, and so I would encourage you to share this with anyone you know who may be spending time in the sun.

For all of the International Developments students who are heading down south to Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Peru, and Vietnam, this will be particularly important.

Have a great week and enjoy the summer warmth!
Sheila

Fact #38: 63 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #38: Did the Spaniards know of Machu Picchu? Hiram Bingham didn't think so. "Yet so far as I have been able to discover, there is no reference in the Spanish chronicles to Machu Picchu. It is possible that not even the conquistadors ever saw this wonderful place."

Fact #37: 64 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #37: Hiram Bingham continued, "Surprise followed surprise until we came to the realization that we were in the midst of as wonderful ruins as any ever found in Peru."

Fact #36: 65 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #36: And what, really, could be? Here's what Hiram Bingham wrote in Harper's Monthly in 1913 about coming upon Machu Picchu: "... Suddenly we found ourselves in the midst of a jungle-covered maze of small and large walls, the ruins of buildings made of blocks of white granite, most carefully cut and beautifully fitted together with cement."

Fact #35: 66 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #35: Hiram Bingham found Vilcabamba, but he dismissed it because it wasn't as grand as Machu Picchu.

Fact #34: 67 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #34: Today, historians think the real Vilcabamba is close to Vitcos, an archaeological site, in the eastern Andes. Another swashbuckling explorer, Gene Savoy, came upon it in 1964 at a place called Espiritu Pampa.

Fact #33: 68 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #33: Hiram Bingham thought he had found Vilcabamba, the true "Lost City of the Incas", which was said to be where the Incas took refuge from the Spaniards.

Fact #32: 69 days until the start of my field placement

Fact #32: Columbus, of course, thought he discovered Asia; Hiram Bingham thought he discovered the "Lost City of the Incas." Both were wrong.