Bingham thought Machu Picchu might prove to be “that mythical place from which the Incas had come when they started out to found Cuzco [Cusco] and to make the beginnings of that great empire which was to embrace a large part of South America.”

The explorer believed that the fact that a temple at Machu Picchu had three large windows (right)—a rare feature in Inca architecture—was evidence of the city’s importance to the Inca.