Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas
- Book Review,
by Richard L. Burger
From Publishers Weekly
Tied to a Yale-sponsored exhibition of Incan artifacts now traveling to several museums in America, this illustrated volume sheds new light on Machu Picchu, the mysterious Peruvian ruins that were rediscovered by the Yale Expedition of 1911. No "lost city" of myth, Machu Picchu was actually a "kind of Inca ‘Camp David’"—a royal country estate that was probably occupied by an Incan king briefly during the 15th century. In addition to reprinting Hiram Bingham’s original 1913 account of the Expedition’s journey, Burger and Salazar’s volume presents several chapters in which modern archeologists describe the astounding scientific advances, the religious rituals and the daily life of Incas at Machu Picchu. (The book also includes a catalogue of the artifacts shown in the traveling exhibition.) Particularly fascinating is Susan Niles’s overview of the many practices that Incan royal families used to conserve their status and resources, including the worship of mummified ancestors and the intermarriage of brothers and sisters. A final chapter by Jorge Flores Ochoa discusses modern-day issues in Peru—such as the successful attempt to make Machu Picchu a center for mystic tourism—and argues that President Fujimori’s plan to build a cable car to the ruins "was designed to satisfy the interests of business managers" while ignoring the interests of the local population. Although the writing in this volume can be dense with scientific terms, most of it is also quite engrossing, and readers who are interested in Machu Picchu will be enchanted by the book’s many lovely photographs. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Yale anthropology professor Burger and Salazar, curator of the Machu Picchu collection at Yale's Peabody Museum, present not only an outstanding catalog, but also a welcome, in-depth resource for anyone interested in pre-Columbian archaeology and the anthropology of sacred sites. The fifteenth-century Inca palace complex in the Peruvian Andes is one of the world's most splendid and culturally important archaeological sites, explored by archaeologist Hiram Bingham III, whose accounts, photographs, and illustrations detail the significance of his 1911 discovery of wonders long shrouded in dense vegetation. Still shrouded in mystery are explanations of the site's construction and abandonment. This amply illustrated volume includes essays reflecting a broad understanding of the Bingham collection that has emerged only in the last 20 years, including Susan Niles' overview of Inca royal estates (Machu Picchu is considered a palatial country estate) and Burger's piece on everyday lives in this center of elite activity and ritual. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Situated high in the Peruvian Andes, the fifteenth-century Inca palace complex at Machu Picchu is one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world. In this beautifully illustrated book, leading American and Peruvian scholars provide an unprecedented overview of the site, its place within the Inca empire, the mysteries surrounding its establishment and abandonment, and the discoveries made there since the excavations by archaeologist Hiram Bingham III in the early twentieth century. Drawing upon the most recent scientific findings, the authors vividly describe the royal estate in the cloud forest where the Inca emperor and his guests went to escape the pressures of the capital. In addition to Bingham's exciting account of his first expedition in 1911, the book includes new and archival photographs of the site as well as color illustrations and explanations of some 120 gold, silver, ceramic, bone, and textile works recovered at Machu Picchu.
From the Publisher
This book is the catalogue of an exhibition that opened at Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History. It will travel to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science from February 13 to May 9, 2004; the Houston Museum of Natural Science from June 4 to August 29, 2004; and the Field Museum of Chicago from October 8 to February 1, 2005, before returning to the Peabody Museum as a permanent exhibit.
From the Back Cover
"Despite its importance as a site of world heritage status, there has been virtually nothing substantive available on Machu Picchu. This appealing book, written by the preeminent scholars in the field, fills the gap beautifully."-Jeffrey Quilter, director of pre-Columbian studies, Dumbarton Oaks
About the Author
Richard L. Burger, professor of anthropology at Yale University, has written many articles and books on South American prehistory, including Chav'n and the Origins of Andean Civilization. Lucy C. Salazar, cocurator of the Machu Picchu exhibition and curatorial affiliate in anthropology at Yale University's Peabody Museum, is an authority on Inca archaeology and the early prehistory of Peru.
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