Charles Wiener
Encyclopedia
Charles Wiener was an Austrian-French scientist-explorer. Born in Vienna
, he is perhaps best known as the explorer who traveled extensively in Peru
, climbed the Illimani
and came close to re-discovering Machu Picchu
.
with a dissertation edited with the title of Essai sur les institutions politiques, religieuses, économiques et sociales de l´Empire des Incas, Paris, 1874, work for which he contacted other students of Mesoamerican antiquity.
According to Kim MacQuarrie, Wiener, in his exploration,
"Wiener traveled in Peru in 1875, a few years after Herman Göhring (a fellow explorer) and [was] told in Ollantaytambo
about certain ruins, including those at “Huainan-Picchu” and “Matcho Picchu
,” but he was unable to reach them during his visit." Consequently, Wiener's own account of his travels, published as Perou et Bolivie (Paris, 1880), "contains a map, “Vallee de Santa-Ana,” incorrectly placing “Huayna picchu” south of “Malcho picchu” on the east side of the Urubamba
." "The map was apparently published in Paris by the Societe de Geographie
in 1877, three years before the publication of Wiener’s book." Also of note is that "Hiram Bingham
(the ultimate re-discoverer of Machu Picchu) was familiar with Wiener’s book [and] when a Cuzqueño told Bingham that he had seen "ruins 'finer than Choqquequirau' at a place called Huayna Picchu," Bingham thought that the "report resembled Wiener’s account.""
Also of note is that Wiener is mentioned in Mario Vargas Llosa
's novel The Storyteller as the Frenchman "who in 1880 came across 'two Machiguenga corpses, ritually abandoned in the river,' which he decapitated and added to his collection of curiosities collected in the Peruvian jungle."
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, he is perhaps best known as the explorer who traveled extensively in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, climbed the Illimani
Illimani
Illimani is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real of western Bolivia. It lies just south of La Paz at the eastern edge of the Altiplano. It is the second highest peak in Bolivia, after Nevado Sajama, and the eighteenth highest peak in South America...
and came close to re-discovering Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
.
Biography
His first intellectual stirrings were in the area of linguistics, since he published a small work on this subject in 1873. Later, he was a teacher of German in Paris. He received a doctor's degree in philosophy from the University of RostockUniversity of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
with a dissertation edited with the title of Essai sur les institutions politiques, religieuses, économiques et sociales de l´Empire des Incas, Paris, 1874, work for which he contacted other students of Mesoamerican antiquity.
According to Kim MacQuarrie, Wiener, in his exploration,
would travel from Ollantaytambo up over the Panticalla Pass until he arrived at the UrubambaUrubambaUrubamba may refer to: In places:* Urubamba, Peru, a small town in Peru, near the Urubamba River* Urubamba Province, a province of the Cusco Region, southern Peru* Urubamba River, a river in Peru...
River at the bridge crossing of Chuquichaca. In a book he published in 1880, Wiener wrote of how locals in Ollantaytambo had told him about [ancient Inca towns] . . . . Wiener did . . . make a detailed map of the Urubamba Valley, on which he included two peaks and marked them with the names Matchopicchu and Huyanapicchu.
"Wiener traveled in Peru in 1875, a few years after Herman Göhring (a fellow explorer) and [was] told in Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region...
about certain ruins, including those at “Huainan-Picchu” and “Matcho Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
,” but he was unable to reach them during his visit." Consequently, Wiener's own account of his travels, published as Perou et Bolivie (Paris, 1880), "contains a map, “Vallee de Santa-Ana,” incorrectly placing “Huayna picchu” south of “Malcho picchu” on the east side of the Urubamba
Urubamba
Urubamba may refer to: In places:* Urubamba, Peru, a small town in Peru, near the Urubamba River* Urubamba Province, a province of the Cusco Region, southern Peru* Urubamba River, a river in Peru...
." "The map was apparently published in Paris by the Societe de Geographie
Société de Géographie
The Société de Géographie , is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 . Since 1878, its headquarters has been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gigantic caryatids representing Land and Sea...
in 1877, three years before the publication of Wiener’s book." Also of note is that "Hiram Bingham
Hiram Bingham III
Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham III, was an academic, explorer, treasure hunter and politician from the United States. He made public the existence of the Quechua citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers...
(the ultimate re-discoverer of Machu Picchu) was familiar with Wiener’s book [and] when a Cuzqueño told Bingham that he had seen "ruins 'finer than Choqquequirau' at a place called Huayna Picchu," Bingham thought that the "report resembled Wiener’s account.""
Also of note is that Wiener is mentioned in Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
's novel The Storyteller as the Frenchman "who in 1880 came across 'two Machiguenga corpses, ritually abandoned in the river,' which he decapitated and added to his collection of curiosities collected in the Peruvian jungle."