The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1917-08-30
IN CITY OF MCAS
Ancient People Created Wonders
of Architecture.
Ruins Found In South America Die.
close Amazing Facts Regarding
Vanished Civilization.


Amazing and absorbing interesting
facts concerning the builders Of the
wonderful city of Machu Picchu, the
ancient Incas, are given in q com.
munication to the National Geograph.
ic society by Prof. Hiram Bingham,
director Of the Peruvian expedition of
1915, sent out by the society and Yale
university. The ruins of this great
center of a vanished civilization was
discovered by Professor Bingham and
his party after they had been lost for
generations.
The buildings Of Machu Picchu,
writes Professor Bingham, had an
elaborate system Of highways through
out this little known and almost unex-
plored country, which lies between
the Urubamba valley and the Apuri-
mao. The region was densely popu.
lated, and Machu Picchu was it's cap
ital.
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 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
convexity Of one stone approximating
the concavity Of the adjoining stone.
In constructing their walls the pure
arch was not evolved.
Their pottery is marked by simple
and graceful lines, bearing striking
resemblance to that Of ancient Greece
and resembling in its simplicity and
utility some of the modern vessels ut
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-
pie actually did arrive at high de.
gree of skill in the manufacture of
textiles through their ability to pro.
cure the wool Of the alpaca.
Their surgical tools were probably
Of bronze or obsidian. Surgery ap.
pears to have been practiced to q con-
siderable degree, If one may Judge
by the large number Of trepanned
skulls that we have found in caves
within a radius of 25 miles of Machu
Picchu. In some cases the cause Of
the operation appears to have been
disease; in others evidence leads us
to the conclusion that the operation
was intended to relieve pain caused
by wounds received in battle. Since
the favorite weapon Of the Inca peo-
pies was the sling, and clubs were
common, it is not surprising that the
skulls Of many soldiers should have
needed thes relief That CAME, CAME from
skillful trepanning. In the art of war
they exhibit skill in defense rather
than Offense. Notifications construct
ed with salients and re-entrant angles
so as to admit Of lateral fire were not
uncommon.
They had no machinery and did not
use iron or steel. They used levers
and inclined planes. They also made
huge fiber ropes, out of which they
constructed long suspension bridges.
They thought nothing of handling
blocks of stone weighing five tons and
upwards. Indeed, there are numerous
stones that weigh over fifteen tons.
which were fitted together with skill
that mas amazed all beholders.
Most unfortunate was the failure
Of the Incas to develop an alphabet,
or even some form of hierOglyphic
similar to that which existed in south
ern Mexico and Central America. It
Is remarkable indeed that people
who succeeded in equaling the an
cient Egyptians in architecture, en-
cheering, pottery and textiles should
have fallen so far behind in the de-
velOpment of written language. This
Is the most serious obstacle that
stands in the way Of our learning more
of that enterpriSing race.