Yale University professor Hiram Bingham was first led to Machu Picchu by Melchor Arteaga, a Quechua-speaking resident, in 1911. Bingham subsequently initiated scientific study of the site. Based on evidence from his 1912 excavations, he erroneously believed that Machu Picchu was Vilcabamba (Vilcapampa), the “lost city of the Incas,” which was later identified as the archaeological site of Espíritu Pampa, which was also discovered by Bingham.
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