eli5: Why were some ancient cities like Palmyra and Machu Picchu left to ruin and fall apart over hundreds of years instead of being repopulated?
In: 1677
I went to Machu Picchu last April, and the reason for it being left alone was that the Spanish came through and killed a bunch of the “smart” people. In the Inca territories, the way you got status was by being smart, having knowledge. If you were of higher rank due to your education, the king would give you gold to wear on your ears (earrings) that stretched out the earlobes. The Spaniards were able to identify upper class people by their ears and kill them to suppress dissent when they came in to take resources. As the Spaniards took over Peru, Machu Picchu was intentionally abandoned, the natives destroyed the trail leading to it. It’s located in an area that’s difficult to access, so the area was left alone until Hiram Bingham rediscovered it.
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