Machu Picchu–Lost and Found

Today, Machu Picchu is one of South America’s most popular tourist destinations, but for centuries it lay hidden in the peaks of the Andes mountains, and was the subject of many legends. Did this lost city, once an estate and religious sanctuary for the Emperor Pachacuti, really exist and how come the Spaniards never found it when they conquered the region in the 1500’s and destroyed so much of the magnificent Inca architecture?

According the story Lost City, it was in 1911 that the American professor and explorer Hiram Bingham set out to answer these questions and, with the help of local farmers and a Quechuan boy named Arteaga, uncovered one of the world’s most significant archeological findings. While he hoped to find some evidence that the city did once exist, he never could have imagined what he would discover high up in the peaks of the Andes mountains.

From the book Machu Picchu by Elizabeth Mann, we learn why the Incas selected such a remote spot up in the Andes for its location. They believed that mountain peaks were sacred because their snow caps provided the only dependable source of water. They thought that the mountain’s melting snow was the source of all the river and ocean water below. From this high sacred spot they could watch the rising sun, which they also prayed to, and make sacrificial offerings to their gods.

It is hard to imagine that this sophisticated granite city could have been planned and built before the invention of the wheel. With long winding roads and thousands of granite steps leading up and around the city it seems amazing that this all could have been constructed by hand and with only a basic pulley system to carry the heavy stones miles up the steep mountain.

We wonder what it must have felt like for Hiram Bingham to see the ruins of Machu Picchu for the very first time. Was it anything like what he had dreamed of? And this leads me to a little project for the scouts: Imagine discovering a mythical hidden city of your dreams. What would it look like?

This is what they come up with:

AZ’s has a castle covered in gems. And clouds filled with love. When it rains they cover the city with love.

CZ’s has three islands. The Island of Water Fun with waterfall water slides and purple sprinklers, The Island of Lollipops and the Island of Snowcones.

HZ’s is a sea of scribbles. Underneath it all he points out a whale and a crab and some dolphins. And then he shows us a circle that he says is his dog. (The dog that he has asked us to get him every day for almost a year!) He says he has found his dog in the lost city.

How telling about what we are looking for and what we hope to find!

Week 2–South America–Vamonos!

We say good-bye to North America wishing we had more time to learn about its history post revolutionary war and hola to South America with excitement because we have plans for some fun crafts and adventures to come!

From our DK Children’s Atlas we get a nice overview of the varied climate and terrain of South America. The Andes Mountains run along the west side of the continent from top to bottom. Since CZ just did a school project on Peru, she’s quick to tell us that the highest peak in the country reaches about 22,000 feet above sea level. To the west is the driest desert, while the area surrounding the equator is home to the world’s largest rainforest.

We turn to the interesting book Life in Ancient South America to learn more about the earliest inhabitants of the continent. We discover that many of the ancient civilizations developed in Peru (because the land was moist and ideal for growing crops). The scouts are excited to hear this as their Papa is from Peru! AZ is also excited to learn that the land was rich with gold and gems as she is partial to anything that sparkles 🙂

Around 6000 BC the people of the Andes discovered ways to irrigate the land and also how to cut flat platforms into the steep mountain slopes so that they could create terraces for planting crops. They were able to hunt, fish and live off the land. The Llama, thought to be domesticated around 1000 BC, provided a helpful form of transportation up the mountain as well as wool for warm clothing. The Chavin, the earliest known natives, invented weaving and would use cotton or alpaca wool depending on the season.

We learn that even the most ancient civilizations in South America were very organized and sophisticated, with city centers, surrounding farms and a strong government in place (including taxes!) Very different from the nomadic native American tribes of North America. It’s interesting to note that the native north and south Americans did share similar gods of nature and the south Americans offered many animal and human sacrifices to please their gods and ward off natural disasters or famine.

The Incas, with their strong army, rose to power in 1000 AD and ruled a vast area of the continent until the 1500’s when the Spanish explorers came looking for gold. We learn that the Spanish destroyed many magnificent Inca buildings and replaced them with Spanish cathedrals and monuments. As the Spanish settled across the continent Catholicism grew, and it remains the dominant religion in South America today.

Next we will read about Machu Picchu, the “lost” city, and we can’t wait to find out more about it and some of the other mysteries of South America tomorrow!