2012 Chautauqua Program - Inti Raymi in Peru

Machu Picchu

Science and Religion in the Ancient Inca Empire:

Machu Picchu and the Inti Raymi Solstice Festival in Cuzco, Peru

June 16 - 25, 2012

Instructor: Dr. Ed Barnhart

Course Description:

The home base for this course will be Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. At 11,000 feet above sea level, the first two days of the course will be spent adjusting to the altitude by attending lectures and visiting only nearby museums. The lectures will cover Inca culture, astronomy, and their little understood khipus, bands of colorful knotted strings known to represent numbers, and probably other information. From studying the khipu, participants will see the Inca had developed a base 10, positional counting system, along with the concept of zero. The travel scope will then expand, first to the ruins around Cuzco, then by train to the ruins of Machu Picchu for two days. On the way back from Machu Picchu, a day will be spent in the ruins and modern Inca villages of the Sacred Valley .

Returning to Cuzco in the late afternoon of June 23^rd, participants will join thousands of people in the in the Plaza de Armas to celebrate the June Solstice. Parades run through the streets all weekend with every village in the region represented by their own troop. The climax of the festivities occurs on Sunday at noon – Inti Raymi. The crowds lift up the current Inca and his wife (yes, they are truly recognized as descendants of the ancient royalty) and carry them up the mountainside to the shrine of Sascahuaman. There, in front of a massive crowd and televised on Peru’s national TV, the Inca sacrifices a black llama. The past 500 years of acculturation mean nothing that day. Cuzco and its quechua speaking inhabitants are still and will always be, Inca.

The course’s last two days will be spent in Cuzco and back in Lima. The day directly after the festival will be in Cuzco where participants will learn how to construct their own Inca khipu, relax, and give the other festival goers a chance to vacate the city. The last day will be a tour of Lima, with an early flight from Cuzco down to the coast and a private bus to bring them around the city. Flights back to the USA typically leave around midnight from Lima international airport.

Click for a more detailed itinerary

For people interested in:

Ancient culture, mathematics, astronomy, religious studies, architecture, geography, archaeology, anthropology, history, art history, sociology, philosophy and other related social sciences fields.

Prerequisites:

While not a requirement, participants are encouraged to have at least some knowledge of ancient Inca culture. Dr. Ed Barnhart can recommend readings for those interested in learning more before the trip. The tours will involve climbing ruins in high altitudes and cold weather. Participants in weak physical condition are encouraged to build strength and stamina before the trip. Consult your physician about the possibility of medicines to abate the effects of high altitude.

About your instructor:

Dr. Ed Barnhart has worked in Mexico and Central America for the last twenty years as an archaeologist, an explorer, and an instructor. During his four years as the student of Dr. Linda Schele (world renowned for finally breaking the Maya code of hieroglyphics in 1973) he developed a strong background in Maya hieroglyphics, calendar systems, iconography, and archaeoastronomy. During his graduate career, South American iconography and shamanism were also major foci of his studies. From 1998 to 2000 he was the Director of the Palenque Mapping Project, an archaeological survey that discovered over 1000 new structures in the Maya ruins of Palenque. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and is now the Director of the Maya Exploration Center, a non-profit research center based in Austin , Texas and Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. He and his team are currently investigating archaeoastronomy and ancient geometry in the ruins of Central America, South America, and Cambodia. Visit www.mayaexploration.org for more information about Dr. Barnhart and the Maya Exploration Center.

Costs:

$1700.00 for double lodging

$2100.00 for single room lodging

Costs include:

Lodging in Lima - Hotel Alpa

Lodging in Cuzco - Hotel Ruinas

Lodging in Aguas Calientes - Gringo Bill's

Peru Rail tickets to Machu Pichuu

Ground Transportation

Breakfasts

Final group dinner at closing ceremonies

Museum entry fees

Ruins/park entry fees

Flights:

Participants are responsible for arranging their own flight reservations to and from Cuzco and, if needed, their overnight in Lima on the way. Since participants come from all over the country, recommending a single flight is impossible. Cuzco is a popular destination and there are many flight options. As of October 2011, the average flight from the USA to Cuzco is running about $900-1200.

Costs do not include:

Airfare to/from Cuzco

lunches and dinners (except the last night)

travel insurance

tips for service providers (drivers, waiters, maid staff, etc.)

Hotels during the course:

Hotel Alpa in Lima

Hotel Ruinas in Cuzco

Gringo Bill's in Aguas Calientes

To secure a place in the course a deposit of $400 to Ahau Travel is required by December 1st, 2011.

The balance payment will then be due 60 days before the course.

We request your deposit by check to:

Ahau Travel

3267 Bee Caves Rd

Suite 107-161

Austin, Texas 78746

Or you can pay with a credit card through Paypal.com with the button below

When it becomes available, you must also fill out the 2012 Chautauqua Program registration form and pay the $100 registration fee at:

http://www.edb.utexas.edu/csme/

Immunizations:

Participants in Dr. Barnhart’s courses always ask about whether they need pre-course immunizations. Dr. Barnhart is not a medical professional and this is a question he cannot and should not answer. Each participant should consult his or her personal physician before the course.

Money:

For money in Peru, we highly recommend an ATM card and/or a credit card. ATM's are everywhere in Cuzco and available 24-hours a day. You can also use a credit card with a pin number (if you know the pin number). Travelers checks are very difficult to exchange and you could end up spending the entire day at the bank.

Please change some U.S. money in the United States into Peruvian Nuevo Soles. The exchange rate as of October 2011 is 1 US Dollar = 2.77 Nuevo Soles. International airports have several places to change money.

The Inti Raymi Festival in Cuzco

Detailed Itinerary for the 2012 Inca Course