Ghost of a flea

Llactapata

Lost, found and then promptly lost, Llactapata has been found once again.

In 1912, the American explorer Hiram Bingham came upon what he called the remains of some Inca chieftain's castle and a few other buildings. This was part of Llactapata, meaning "high town." But Bingham gave it only a passing glance. He was in a hurry to get to the site, only two miles away, where he would make his name in archaeology: Machu Picchu.

And then... More on Llactapata at Archaeology.

"Inca Ruins Discovered near Machu Picchu." That's the title on the press release, and it's sort of true--Thomson-Ziegler documented more of the site than Bingham did in 1912 or those who visited the place in the 1980s did--but on the other hand, they knew the site was there. Was it really the "first time that infra-red cameras have been used in this way to find lost Inca sites"? Well, since the site wasn't lost it's a moot point, but it's hard to say what the infra-red work did, or did not, reveal about Llactapata.

Press releases are meant to grab the attention of reporters. To accomplish this they often include claims that push the boundaries the truth, and stretch it just a bit. Mark Twain called these "stretchers." It's unfortunate that reporters, perhaps working under tight deadlines, are taken in by the hype. It's also unfortunate that the real story of what archaeology is and what archaeologists do gets buried in it. Assuming that Thomson-Ziegler had proper permits, were doing high-quality work, etc., the study of this site might have been enough of a story without the overstated claims.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at November 20, 2003 07:11 AM

Comments

Posted by: Kenneth Kaufman at November 22, 2003 08:30 PM