The hidden treasures of the Incas

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Legends, myths, false beliefs and the truth about hidden Inca treasures

There are so many stories about hidden Inca treasures, large amounts of gold in lost cities, but how much fantasy and how much truth could be in them? Let's find out in this article!

Are the myths and stories about hidden treasures true?

On the image above, you can see typical Inca archaeological artifacts. The Incas have created lots of statuettes, ornaments, many of them can be seen in museums across the planet. The Peruvian authorities prohibit anyone from taking out archaeological artifacts of the country, but even so, many objects are still being smuggled out of the country.

The first person to have been accused for taking out archaeological values was Hiram Bingham himself. He is said to have taken around 5.000 artifacts from Inca sites that he had discovered. 

Bingham has found many objects that can be considered treasures, but not of very high value.

For example, at the archaeological site of Machu Picchu he has found objects made of stone, bronze, ceramic and obsidian, but no gold or silver.

The Incas were well known for producing large numbers of silver and gold objects, like the real size gold replicas of maize and other plants, that were found in Cuzco.

The Inca treasures found by the conquistadores, archaeologists, travelers were primarily artistical creations, of great value to scientists, but of no little material value.  

The Incas often used precious metals like gold, silver, copper to make statuettes and decorated them with precious stones, such as emeralds. The values of the statues varies, depending not only on its material, but also on what it represents, when it was made and how well preserved they are.       

Many legends, stories speak about the supposed existence of large amounts of precious objects, anything from gemstones to golden statuettes. Amateurs seem more likely to believe the myths, but specialists also show curiosity to studying them.

What we see in movies about hidden Worlds and large amounts of gold being uncovered, death traps like in Indiana Jones, for example, are rather fiction, products of imagination.

So are there any beliefs based on true facts about Inca treasures? Yes! There are, but one has to study them in detail in order to understand them. Several stories that you see on TV are rather imagination, others are exaggerated mixes of multiple myths.

Let's take a deeper look...

The possibility of hidden Inca treasures

They're based and pretty good facts.

When the Spaniards invaded Peru, the Incas were literally "ripped off", their temples looted and buildings demolished. Pizarro's greedy soldiers were only looking for Gold, Silver and other precious objects. And whenever they laid their hands on them, they most often melted them into single pieces, easier to transport and sell. The artistical value of the objects was this way lost forever.

The Incas had all the reason to hide their treasures from the conquistadores and so they did.

When Atahualpa was prisoner, he offered Pizarro enough gold and silver to Pizarro to fill the room as high as the Spaniard could reach with his hand. Pizarro lied to Atahualpa about letting him go after the treasures arrive. He did not let him go, he asked him to tell where the treasures came from.

Atahualpa was smart not to reveal the locations, he pointed out to various places where smaller amounts of valuables were hidden, but never large amounts. Even worse, for the Spaniards, the gold they were given was mixed with less precious metals, such as iron. The alloys didn't have as much value as pure gold, it was difficult to sell them.

Atahualpa was note released, brutally murdered by Pizarro's men.

The Spaniards didn't get the large quantities of gold, no matter how much they were looking.

Today, many adventurers, explorers and specialists believe that the treasures are "still out there somewhere in the Andes", hidden by the Incas, perhaps in some remote secret city.

The "El Dorado" legend

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro was thrilled to find the "El Dorado", the "Land of gold", a place with unimaginable riches, hidden in the Andes. The legend of the "El Dorado" was spread by the Spanish conquistadores, which referred to the lands within Colombia and Venezuela.

Some people mix the myth of "El Dorado" with the stories about the Peruvian Inca treasures.

The "El Dorado" legend was spread by the Muisca people, who lived in today's Colombia and Venezuela.

The Muisca people have a legend about a golden person ("El Dorado"), who had golden skin and took large amounts of gold with him into a lake. That lake is the Lago Guatavita in Colombia. A crater lake in the Andes.

Pizarro and his men took the Muisca legend literally and have tried to drain the lake and collect the gold afterwards. They chopped out part of the crater's wall in a  v-shape, which can still be seen.

So, the "El Dorado" is not an Inca legend about treasures, nor does it have any connection with the conquest of Peru. The "El Dorado" is a story started by conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who heard about the Muisca legend. The story spread and has captured Pizarro's imagination.

Hidden treasures in secret cities?   

Many theorize around the possibility that the Incas might have hidden their precious objects in secret cities to which only a few had access. Now the jungles have covered them and is almost impossible to find them, even with modern technology.

There were many so-called "lost cities of the Incas", check out article dedicated to them to learn more.

Hiram Bingham, when he came across Machu Picchu, was actually looking for Vilcabamba, the "Last Stronghold Of The Incas". The scientist was looking for it for years, when he accidentally found this magnificent citadel.

The "Lost City of the Incas" is Machu Picchu, the "Last Stronghold Of The Incas" is Vilcabamba. Sometimes the 2 are confused.

Machu Picchu is not Vilcabamba, nor is it Paititi, another "lost city", thought to be located somewhere in the jungle of southeastern Peru, western Brazil or northwestern Bolivia. the city only exists in legends, it has never been discovered. Many scientists consider the legend pure fantasy, as no proof has been found about its existence.

The treasures of the Incas are said to have been hidden at Paititi, sometime in the late 1500s. There even are documents that mention the city of Paititi, telling it that it had large amounts of gold and silver and that it was rich in gemstones. Sort of a treasure-keeping city with large deposits of gems, jewels, precious metals.

The theory of the lost city holding unimaginable riches, the "Lost Treasures of the Incas" is based on legends, myths, words of mouth, yet very few written documents.

For hundreds of years, people were searching for the "El Dorado" and the lost Inca treasures, but no one has found them yet.

Archaeologists are often accused for stealing artifacts, objects found at archaeological sites. Bingham himself was the subject of persecution, while excavating and exploring Machu Picchu. It's a proven fact that anyone who finds something tries to keep it for himself only and if valuable objects were found in Peru, then they were most likely either smuggled out of the country to be sold or to be kept in collection. Unfortunately smugglers often melt and transform the precious metal objects in order to be unrecognizable, that way, having them sold under another form, such as rings, necklaces is relatively easy.

The ancient valuable objects also have a historical, artistic, aesthetic value, not only material.

It's everyone's choice to believe or not if the hidden treasures exist or not, but the fact that so many legends, myths with common elements exist, makes us wonder: perhaps the stories do have a real basis.

If there are a few places on earth, where treasures could have been hidden, then the Andes Mountains together with the Amazonian Jungle would be on the list. If we would make a list of ancient cultures that had many gold mines, had the capability to produce precious objects and have had a real "industry" to manufacture them, then the Incas would be high on the list again. And finally, which cultures would have had strong reasons to hide such riches? Well, again the Incas would be high on the list, because they had all reasons to hide them from the Spaniards, as the latter ones were exclusively interested in material values and nothing else.

The possibility for the so-called "lost treasures of the Incas" to exist is medium, considering the number of myths and the depth of each story, the fact that the Spaniards were convinced that there is more gold than what they have found and the facts that the Incas have always been producing them in large quantities and had good motives to hide them.

For hundreds of years, the existence of hidden treasures could not be confirmed. Nobody has found them and, if anyone did or will find them, then would he let anyone know?