Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-17
MYSTERY OF INCAS
is REVEALED

nlngtOn-AmazInS and absorb
ingly interesting facts concerning the
builders of the wonderful city of Ma
chu PicChu, the ancient Incas, are Civ
en- in a communication to the National
. Geographic society by Professor Hi
ram Bingham, director of the Peru
( Wan expedition of 1915, sent out By
! the society and Yale university The
ruins of this great center OF van
iShed civilization were discovered by
( Professor Bingham and his party after
they had been lost for generations.
Some Of the results of the expedition
obtained in the directors report to
the National Geogra phic society are
given in a bulletin ISSUED today from
/ the sOciety's headquarters lin Wash
ingtOn:
! The builders of Machu Picchu."
writes Professor Bingham had an
elaborate system of highways through
out this little-known and almost I'M
/ explored country which lies between
! the Urubamba valley and the Apurl-
mac. This region was denseIy popu-
! lated and Machu Picchu was it's CAPT
| tai.
: Lack of timber. the prevalence Of
heavy rains during part of the year
and the ease with which stone might
! be procured early led to the develop
ment of stone as a building material
( Strength and permanence were Sc
cured through the keying together OF
irregular blocks. The upper and low
er surfaces of these stones were fire.
quently convexed or conceived, the con-
vexity of one stone apprOximating the
cOncavity of the adjoining stone In
constructing their walls the pure arch
was not evolved. They developed sew
eral devices, such as lock holes for
, fastening the bar back of a door: ring
stones, which were inserted in the
gables to enable the roofing beams 10
be tied on, projecting stOne-cylinders.
which could be used as points to which
to tie the roof and keep it from blow
ing off.
Their pottery is marked by simple
and graceful lines bearing a striking
resemblance to that of ancient Greece.
and resembling in its simplicity and
utility some of the modern vessels at
present in use in French kitchens
Owing to the extreme moisture of the
climate, the remains of cloth are very
few. but We know that the Inca peO-
pies actually did arrive at a high de-
gree of skill in the manufacture of tex
tiles through their ability to procure
the wool of the alpaca. By the use of
hand looms artistic and intricate pat
terms were produced and cloth of the
most delicate texture was not uncom-
mon. Their metal articles were easily
preserved, and so we have been able
to learn that the people of Machu Pic
chu were extremely skillful makers
of bronze.
Their surgical tools were probably
Of bronze or Obsidian. Surgery ap-
pears TO have been practiced to a con-
siderable degree, if one may judge by
the large number of trepanned skulls
that we have found in caves within
radius of % miles of Machu PicchG
In some cases the cause of the opera
ton appears to have been disease: in
others evidence leads to the cOncIu-
sion that the operation was intended to
relieve pain caused by wounds re-
ceived in battle. Since the favoritc
weapon of the linda peoples was the
sling, and clubs were common, it is
not surprising that the skulls of many
soldiers should have needed the relief
that came from skilIful trepanning
In the art of war they exhibit skill
in defense rather than offense Forti-
hcations constructed with salients and
reentrant angles so as to admit of lat
eral fire were not uncommon.
They had no machinery and did
not use iron or steel. They used lev
ers and inclined planes. They also
made huge fibre ropes, out of which
they constructed long suspension t
bridges. They thought nothing of hand /
ling blocks of stone weighing FIVE tons
and upward Indeed. there are num- !
erOus stones that weigh over Is tons
which were fitted together with a skill /
that has amazed all beholders
1t appears that the Incas and their +
influence throughout the Andes ex
tended no farther north than the
known limits OF the Ilamas and the +
alpacas in fact. the development or +
their culture may be said to have de- /
pended in large measure on their sue (
cess in demonstrating these varieties
Of the South American camel so long
that no wild members of either species
remain. Their ability 10 raise AMI
train hundreds of thousands of llamas !.