In 2008 Peru sued Yale University for the return of artifacts and human remains taken by Hiram Bingham. They claimed he stole over 46,000 articles. Yale claimed they had only a little over 5,000. Was that an admission of guilt? Heaney was fascinated with the case and decided to dig up the truth for himself. Here's the thing, he knows how to grab the reader's attention with the opening description of Indiana Jones. I like the idea of Hiram Bingham being the devil-may-care Indiana Jones of his time. It lends an air of intrigue to the story. He had the looks and the devil-may-care attitude!

Here are some things about Hiram Bingham: Hiram is an old family name. Our Hiram was the third. He sired a fourth. Hiram was also very prejudice. He thought he had "competition" when exploring the ancient Inca ruins until he realized the ones who went before him weren't European white so they didn't count. He was also a master thief. He was able to smuggle out additional crates of human remains and artifacts with the help of Peruvians he was able to bribe. His smuggling cracked open an age-old question, just who do these treasures belong to? The ancestors of the land or are the finders the keepers, as they saying goes?

Heaney's story is rich with history and lore. The ghosts of past conquests walk among Bingham's Machu Picchu ruins and beg to be remembered. ( )

Indiana Jones never had to deal with national cultural patrimony laws, but Christopher Heaney's book demonstrates the tangled webs created through evolving concepts of archaeology, science, cultural patrimony, and foreign exploration. Based on primary source documentary research and the author's own descriptions of Incan ruins, this book follows Hiram Bingham's unlikely career as a jungle explorer and amateur archaeologist during his multiple expeditions to Peru and his descent into increasingly more desperate schemes to provide Yale University with the artifacts from Macchu Picchu and other Incan sites. The narrative was intriguing and enjoyable to read and moved along at a good pace. I also liked the occasional flashbacks to actual Incan history and the tragic events that occurred at many sites that Bingham visited. I was also very glad to read the book's afterword, which describes the cooperative efforts of both Yale and the Peruvian government to return the artifacts to their place of origin. This is definitely a victory for indigenous peoples everywhere who are engaged in their own struggles to gain the return of both human remains and cultural artifacts.
Recommended! ( )

If you're interested in Amazon exploration, this is yet another book you don't want to miss! While it's a little drier than Lost City of Z, there's still plenty of history, adventure, and real-world wonder to satisfy anyone looking for a jaunt into South American history and archaeology.

I should also mention that a good portion of the book is given to the issue of who artifacts belong to: the country of origin, or the group/person who found it? In Bingham's case, he saw the artifacts as belonging to Yale (who he dug for), and spent a great deal of his career fighting to keep the artifacts out of the hands of the Peruvian government... even if it meant smuggling the artifacts out and lying about what he'd found. It's a fascinating discussion, and one that's still relevant to archaeologists, museums, and governments around the world today. ( )

On the morning of July 24, 1911, a tall lecturer-cum-explorer from Yale University set off in a cold drizzle to investigate rumors of ancient Inca ruins in Peru. The explorer chopped his way through thick jungle, crawled across a "bridge" of slender logs bound together with vines, and crept through underbrush hiding venomous fer-de-lance pit vipers.

Two hours into the hike, the explorer and his two escorts came across a grass-covered hut. A pair of Indian farmers walked them a short way before handing them over to a small Indian boy. With the boy leading the way, Hiram Bingham stumbled upon one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century; and what was named in 2007 as one of the new seven wonders of the world: Machu Picchu.

Christopher Heaney's "Cradle of Gold" recounts the discovery of Machu Picchu , but also dives deeply into the expeditions leading up to this seminal archaeological discovery, as well as later expeditions and the political intrigues that still exist today.

To be clear, Bingham didn't truly 'discover' Machu Picchu. There were two Indian families living on the mountain who were even using the broad Machu Picchu plaza as a garden. It's common in modern times to reference Bingham as the "scientific" discoverer of the mountain top Inca citadel. According to Heaney, it was common during his day as well. Within the last two years, research has emerged that indicates that not only did locals know of the ruins perched above the Urubamba River, but foreign interests were both aware of Machu Picchu, and had sought out (and possibly found), treasure among the ruins. Heaney points out that the debate of who 'discovered' Machu Picchu began the moment Bingham reached the ruins and saw a name clearly scratched in charcoal on an ancient Inca wall.

Heaney spent years researching the story in Peru, the UK and across the United States to compile fresh and historic perspectives on Bingham the man, and Bingham the explorer. Heaney covers Bingham's childhood where he group up in Hawai'i with a deeply religious father and grandfather, both of whom were, and are, renown for their work in spreading and reinforcing Christianity across the Pacific.

According to Heaney, Bingham found himself caught between the very conservative world of his religious upbringing, and a strong desire to explore. Additionally, he had to live up to a well-known name and reputation that was generations-old. He ended up marrying an heiress to the Tiffany fortune which provided the early funding of his first trips to South America. He had a knack for history, writing, and leadership. The combination of the three landed him in Peru in 1911.

A second ruin-hunting expedition, with primary funding from Yale University, where Hiram graduated and lectured, and the National Geographic Society, returned him to Peru to flesh out his previous discoveries and the historical theories he proposed. Bingham explored, excavated and publicized on his own behalf. Ultimately the world embraced his Lost City which he thought was the first and last cities of the Incas. It is, in fact, the strongest of Bingham's legacies.

But there's more to the story than discovery. There's a political side that adds a rather distasteful bit of reality to the dream-like elements of the Inca city in the clouds. Within the last three years, Peru has been pushing Yale, in the press and in the courts, to return the artifacts that Bingham purportedly took with him from Peru during his series of expeditions. This dark cloud hangs over Machu Picchu which is set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Bingham's revelation to the world. This political battle is not new. It emerged essentially as Bingham was making his round of celebrity lectures in the U.S. lauding his discoveries. And the battle didn't simply occur around Bingham, he was often right in the middle of the fray. Heaney also makes it clear that Bingham was not a mere innocent bystander, but he helped create a problem that has lasted almost a century.

Heaney's story is very detailed and extremely well researched as evidenced by 20+ pages of references and footnotes. He got his hands on several archives rich in journals and personal correspondence related to Machu Picchu and Hiram Bingham. Heaney provides a thrilling account of Bingham's journeys, through the multifaceted lenses of those related to his Peruvian expeditions, as well as his own well-known accounts.

The story of Bingham's discoveries evoke the youthful passions to take on incredible challenges in far-off lands. The realities of Bingham's jungle and mountain adventures are mere fantasies of young boys across suburban America...fantasies that are reinforced through pop culture icons like Indiana Jones. Heaney suggests (even in his title) that Indiana Jones was modeled on Hiram Bingham. He, in fact, references an old Charlton Heston film,"Secret of the Incas", upon which the costumers of Raiders of the Lost Ark based Indy's outfit. Heston's character in "Secret of the Incas" is, of course, a dead ringer for Bingham.

Like Indy, Bingham's story has good guys and bad guys. Unlike the movies the good guys don't necessarily wear the white hats and the bad guys don't necessarily wear the black ones. ( )

A unique story about an amazing people and place in the world. Heaney captures the troubled history of the Incas, the ruins, their excavation, and the Americas. It spans an improbable timeframe--15th century conquistadors to 1910s explorers, to the current legal battle between Peru and Yale--and manages to remain interesting and on track. A great start for a young historian. ( )