One of the most famous archaeological sites in the world may be named after a simple misunderstanding.
The ancient Incan city we know as 'Machu Picchu' should probably be called 'Picchu' or 'Huayna Picchu', according to a new analysis of historical documents.In 1911, when the White American historian and explorer, Hiram Bingham, was first led to the ancient Incan ruins, he asked a local landowner to write down the name of the site in his field journal.
In the early 20th century, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu were not known by many locals in the Cusco region. The mountains on either side of the long-lost city, however, were very well known. Later, Bingham wrote 'Maccu Piccu, Huayna Pichu' in his journal to refer to the site. Only after Arteaga scribbled down the now famous name in response to Bingham's questioning did Bingham settle on 'Machu Picchu' for good. But perhaps Arteaga was not referencing the ruins of Huayna Picchu, but the ruins on Machu Picchu.
"[W]hile negative evidence is never as fulfilling, it is intriguing that we know of no reference to an Inca city called Machu Picchu before news of Bingham's visit exploded across the world in 1912," the researchersIn 1990, the Andean scholar, John Rowe, was the first to use archival documents to argue that 'Machu Picchu' was a misnomer.
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