Agustín Lizárraga

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Lizárraga and the second or maternal family name is Ruiz.
Agustín Lizárraga
Born
Agustín Lizárraga Ruiz

(1865-06-12)June 12, 1865
Mollepata, Cusco, Peru
DiedFebruary 11, 1912(1912-02-11) (aged 46)
Urubamba River, Peru
Cause of deathDrowning
Occupation(s)Explorer and farmer
Known forDiscovering Machu Picchu with Hiram Bingham on July 14, 1902.
SpouseRosa Lizárraga

Agustín Lizárraga Ruiz (Spanish: [aɣusˈtin liˈθaraɣa] June 12, 1865, in Mollepata – February 11, 1912, in Urubamba River) was a Peruvian explorer and farmer who discovered Machu Picchu on July 14, 1902, nine years prior to American explorer Hiram Bingham.[1][2][3]

Biography[edit]

"Agustín Lizárraga is discoverer of Machu Picchu and lives at San Miguel Bridge just before passing"

— Hiram Bingham in his diary on July 25, 1911[4][3]

Early life[edit]

He was born in Mollepata, Peru, in 1865. At the age of 18, he left his hometown to avoid enlisting in the army. Subsequently, Lizárraga and his brother took up residence in the Aobamba Valley, situated within the department of Cuzco. At the end of the 19th century, trade between Quillabamba and Cusco thrived, and the main route for arrieros transporting coffee and coca leaves followed the course of the Urubamba River. With this in mind, the Lizárraga brothers decided to strategically settle halfway along that trade route, near the San Miguel Bridge and in the Intihuatana area.[5] There, both of them dedicated themselves to cultivating vegetables, corn, and granadilla.

Over time, the Lizárraga brothers became the top farmers in the area and became well-acquainted with the Ochoa family, who owned land near what is now Machu Picchu. They worked for the Ochoa family on the Hacienda Collpani. Lizárraga was also appointed as a tax collector by the Ministry of Transport, entrusted with the oversight of all the bridges spanning the distance from Cusco to Quillabamba.[6]

Machu Picchu Expedition[edit]

Agustín Lizárraga's charcoal inscription, 'A. Lizárraga 1902', on the central window of the Temple of the Three Windows

On July 14, 1902, Agustín Lizárraga, renowned for his skill in "scaling the most inaccessible places" and "defying all obstacles,"[7] led an expedition in search of new lands for cultivation, accompanied by workers from the hacienda Collpani. His cousin Enrique Palma, the hacienda's administrator; Toribio Recharte, a laborer of Lizárraga, and Gabino Sánchez joined him.[8] After several hours of walking through the undergrowth, they came across stone walls of ancient buildings. They spent the day at the citadel, discovering an increasing number of buildings during his exploration. Lizárraga observed in astonishment and intuited that it could hold value. He then made an inscription with charcoal on one of the stones of the Temple of the Three Windows, bearing his surname and the year: "A. Lizárraga 1902." This inscription was later discovered by Bingham in 1911 and by José G. Cosío in January 1912. Later, Bingham ordered its removal citing preservation reasons.[2][9][10]

Temple of the Three Windows, where Lizárraga left his inscription, which was later erased by Bingham

The following year, Agustín realized that the lands of the citadel were ideal for farming, which is why he recruited the Mollepata [es] families of Toribio Recharte and later, Anacleto Álvarez, to settle there.

Between 1904 and 1905, José María Ochoa Ladrón de Guevara, son of the owner of the hacienda Collpani, Justo Zenón Ochoa, persuaded Lizárraga to inform the discovery of Machu Picchu in Cuzco. Although Lizárraga feared losing his "fertile and abundantly productive farmland," he accepted Ochoa's proposal after being offered new lands in Collpani Grande. They began spreading the news to friends, family, and several prominent intellectuals, including his brother Justo Antonio Ochoa Ladrón de Guevara, who informed university professors at the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco and the American rector Albert Giesecke [es].[11]

Death[edit]

Melchor Arteaga crosses the Urubamba River on a log bridge reminiscent of the one where Lizárraga fell in 1912.

Tragically, in February 1912, Agustín Lizárraga drowned in the Vilcanota River and his body was never recovered.[12][13] According to Peruvian scholar José Gabriel Cosio [es], the incident occurred at 4 p.m. when Lizárraga was crossing a "dangerous little bridge" on his way to his corn fields. He fell from the middle of the bridge and, being accompanied only by a child, could not be receive help. Unfortunately, despite an extensive search covering a distance of three leagues, his body could not found.[14] Cosio adds regarding this:

Poor Lizárraga! He has died, as twenty or thirty will die, and as hundreds of people must have died, because the bridge that Mr. Ochoa tells me about, and of which there are several along the Vilcanota, cannot be called such. They are sticks or logs tied with ropes and twine that are thrown from one side to the other of the river without walls or safety support.

— José Gabriel Cosio[15]

Awards and honors[edit]

In the year 2002, Daniel Estrada submitted a motion before the Congress, seeking official recognition on behalf of the Nation for citizens Agustín Lizárraga, Gabino Sánchez, Justo Ochoa, and Enrique Palma as the discoverers of Machu Picchu.[16][17] This motion also proposed paying homage to "eternally commemorate - in the manner of the era - the Peruvian presence at Machu Picchu, on the 14th of July, 1902."[18]

Subsequently, in July 2011, in light of the centennial anniversary of the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu, the Provincial Municipality of Cusco (Cusco City Hall) posthumously bestowed upon Agustín Lizárraga the Medalla Centenario de Machupicchu para el mundo (Centenary Medal of Machu Picchu). This distinction was rooted in his "merits and contributions to the discovery of the Historical Sanctuary of Machupicchu."[19][20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lawler, Andrew (October 2021). "These archaeological findings unlocked the stories of our ancestors". National Geographic Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bingham (1875–1956), Hiram (2004-01-01). "Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru". 219. Retrieved 2023-08-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Heaney, Christopher (2011). Cradle of gold: the story of Hiram Bingham, a real-life Indiana Jones and the search for Machu Picchu. MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-230-11204-9. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  4. ^ Bingham, Alfred M. (1989). Portrait of An Explorer: Hiram Bingham, Discoverer of Machu Picchu. Ames: Iowa State University Press. ISBN 9780813801360.
  5. ^ Sergio Vilela Galván; José Carlos De la Puente (2020-04-18). El último secreto de Machu Picchu: ¿Tiene dueño la ciudadela de los Incas? (in Spanish). Editorial Nefelibata. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  6. ^ Hall, Amy Cox (2017-11-22). Framing a Lost City: Science, Photography, and the Making of Machu Picchu. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-4773-1368-8.
  7. ^ Cosio, José Gabriel (1912). "Una excursión a Machupicchu, ciudad antigua" (PDF). Revista Universitaria de la Unsaac. 1 (3). Cusco: National University San Antonio Abad del Cusco: 12–25.
  8. ^ Cosio, José Gabriel (1913). "Informe elevado al Ministerio de Instrucción por el Dr. José Gabriel Cosio, Delegado del Supremo Gobierno y de la Sociedad Geográfica de Lima, ante la Comisión Científica de 1912 enviada por la Universidad de Yale, acerca de los trabajos realizados por ella en el Cuzco y Apurímac" (PDF). Revista Universitaria de la Unsaac. Cusco: Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco: 2–34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-11.
  9. ^ "El nombre borrado de Machu Picchu".
  10. ^ "¿Quién descubrió Machu Picchu?". 23 July 2014.
  11. ^ Mould de Pease, Mariana (2007). "Machu Picchu, maravilla cultural del mundo". Studium Veritatis. 6 (10–11): 299–314. doi:10.35626/sv.10-11.2007.162.
  12. ^ Maya Morales Palomino (12 April 2018). "Agustín Lizárraga, el Descubridor de Machu Picchu".
  13. ^ "Agustín Lizárraga, el hombre que llegó a Machu Picchu 9 años antes que Bingham".
  14. ^ Cosio, José Gabriel (1912). "Una excursión a Machupicchu, ciudad antigua" (PDF). Revista Universitaria de la Unsaac. 1 (2). Cusco: Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco: 2–22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-11.
  15. ^ Cosio, José Gabriel (1912). "Una excursión a Machupicchu, ciudad antigua" (PDF). Revista Universitaria de la Unsaac. 1 (2). Cusco: National University San Antonio Abad del Cusco: 2–22.
  16. ^ Hall, Amy Cox (2017-11-22). Framing a Lost City: Science, Photography, and the Making of Machu Picchu. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-4773-1368-8. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  17. ^ Mould De Pease, Mariana. "Machu Picchu: A Puzzle to Assemble". Revista Andina (in Spanish). 41: 119–220.
  18. ^ Estrada, Daniel. "MOTION ON THE AGENDA 5" (PDF) (in Spanish). Congress of the Republic. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-10-28.
  19. ^ Provincial Municipality of Cusco. "Resolution of Municipal Council 074-2011.PDF" (PDF) (in Spanish).
  20. ^ Peru News Agency (2011-07-06). "Eminent Figures Received Centenary of Machu Picchu Medals in Cusco". andina.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-08-09.

Further reading[edit]

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