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Cradle Of Gold: The Story Of Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones, And The Search For Machu Picchu (2010)

by Christopher Heaney(Favorite Author)

3.51 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0230611699 (ISBN13: 9780230611696)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Palgrave Macmillan Trade

review 1: The discovery of Machu Picchu by Hiram BinghamThis book narrates the adventure (and misadventures) of Yale University professor Hiram Bingham in the 1911 discovery of Machu Picchu, currently one of the most popular tourist spots in the Americas. With the help of Peruvian scholars like Carlos Romero and local informants like Juan Quispicusi, Bigham found Vitcos and Espiritu Pampa, scenes of the final moments of Manco Inca, Titu Cusi, and Tupac Arnaru, three of the important and tragic figures in Peruvian history. Machu Picchu represents the Inca Empire at its height, and Vitcos and Espiritu Pampa embody Inca resistance to Spanish impe¬rialism. Bingham did not understand all that he saw, and there were many Peru¬vians who had seen these ruins before him, but his desire to ... moreunderstand them within the story of Spanish and Inca struggle is one of the more compelling acts in the history of exploration. His expedition paid attention to the lives of the humbler members of Inca society; the poor, and the transplanted. He was a man of his time, thoroughly bound by American piety, wealth, and colonialist attitudes towards the native peoples of Latin America. To ex¬plore and excavate, he took advantage of forced Indian labor. He was raised to believe that he is the hero of his life, and obscured the help he received from the many Peruvians who preceded him in the archives and mountains. He loved his discoveries so much that he had to possess their artifacts, losing himself in the moral jungle of that decision. Bingham sought exceptions as a white American and representative of Yale, then bent and broke Peruvian law when he didn't get special treatment. When confronted by his Peruvian collaborators, he quit academics, left Machu Picchu's artifacts at Yale, and went into politics, where he tripped once again. His high-profile expeditions raised Peruvian consciousness and criticisms of foreign ex¬ploitation of its history, unauthorized excavation and the smuggling of artifacts. In one expedition Bingham and his companion named Coot had dodged the famed stick-up artists Butch Cassidy and the Sun¬dance Kid near Bolivia. The two outlaws had robbed a cart carrying one silver mine's payroll the week before and Bolivian soldiers had cornered and shot both the bandits. When this happened, Bingham wrote the story down, not realizing its significance. Historians Anne Meadows and Daniel Buck, however, concluded that the two men were in fact Butch Cassidy and the Sun¬dance Kid. In a strange turn of events Bing¬ham bought one of their mules not realizing his brush with another pair of American legends. While Bingham gets the credit for the discovery of the lost city of Incas, but he is also accused of removing the archeological treasures of Peru in a clandestine fashion and many of them smuggled illegally into this country. The court battle between Yale and Peru is uncalled for; the treasures rightfully belong to Peru and Yale must return the archeological materials.
review 2: Ok, first of all Goodreads deleted my original review but I would just like to say that this book was fantastic and explained Hiram Bingham's discovery of Machu Picchu down to how he struggled or didn't struggle with getting artifacts back to Yale's Peabody Museum. I like how he brings up the debate about whether or not museums in the US should have as many artifacts from other countries as it does. Heaney accredits his being able to see things in museums as one of the reasons he was inspired to travel and become a historian. On the other hand doesn't the country of origin have some claim to items that were taken from it's country? Although in the book it hadn't happened yet but Yale sent back a huge portion of it's collection to Cusco Peru in 2011 the centenial of Bingham's dicovery of Machu Picchu. The artifacts are now on display at the Casa de Concha Museum.I highly recommend this book and it came highly recommended by Paolo Greer, another noted Machu Pichu and Peru historian. You will not be disappointed! Heaney makes sure to bring up many of the observations that Bingham made and compare them to what is now thought to be true about Machu Picchu. It's a fast read and highly interesting and entertaining. You won't be let down. less

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