Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha, Cusco

A review of a visit to the Museo Casa Concha in Cusco, Peru, also known as the Museo Machu Picchu. This is the best opportunity to see artefacts from Machu Picchu before or after a visit to the site itself. But it’s the untold or carefully positioned stories that are the most intriguing.

Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha

The Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha is one of the more recent additions to Cusco‘s museum scene. You wouldn’t necessarily know this by looking at it, though; like many of the city’s museums, it’s in a historic, colonial-era building. Before we dive into what you can see here, let’s take a little time to break down that lengthy name and understand a little more about the museum’s origins.

The ‘Casa Concha’ part is a little more straightforward, so let’s start there. That is the name of the colonial building, erected on the site of a residence of Tupac Inka Yupanqui. The style is one you will quickly recognise as typical of Cusco’s colonial period; quite unassuming from the exterior, with a large internal courtyard surrounded by charming balconies. Like most things in Peru, it’s been destroyed by earthquakes a couple of times and rebuilt. In the twentieth century it was an army barracks and police station before the government donated it to the University of San Antonio Abad. After a restoration, today you can see fragments of frescoes and other original features.

What about the ‘Machu Picchu’ part? Well, this goes back to Hiram Bingham and his ‘scientific discovery’ of Machu Picchu in 1911 (more on this shortly). Bingham was an enthusiastic explorer and Yale professor. He returned to Peru several times, finding more Inca sites each time. He also excavated some of these sites, taking objects back with him to Peru. After a protracted battle (again more on this shortly), the Peruvian government and Yale University came to an arrangement. Some artefacts would be returned and displayed in Peru, with arrangements in place for Yale scholars to continue to access them for research.

Thus the Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha was born. It’s the best opportunity in Cusco, or indeed in Peru, to see objects from Machu Picchu. Not every visitor will care about this, but for me it was top of the list before my own Machu Picchu excursion, as a way to help me visualise life in this mysterious site.

The ‘Scientific Discovery’ of Machu Picchu

Hiram Bingham occupies an interesting place in the annals of exploration, and of Peruvian history. He was an ambitious man, a keen scholar, and ahead of his time in terms of understanding good PR. However, not even Bingham would say that he ‘discovered’ Machu Picchu. Hard to argue with the fact that local people had never forgotten about it, and used the terraces for farming. He wasn’t even the first European up there, which we know from his records and from graffiti. But he did bring Machu Picchu to the attention of the world, with a huge impact. Let’s face it, Machu Picchu was the primary reason for me to be in Peru at all, and I’m sure many visitors can say the same.

To get around this set of circumstances – acknowledging Bingham’s role while not ignoring the continuity of local knowledge about Machu Picchu, Bingham has become the ‘scientific discoverer’ of the site. He certainly did love to measure, take notes, and document sites he ‘discovered’ in photographs. I find it quite charming that this is because he followed the instructions of a National Geographic handbook for explorers to the letter. He was not quite so scientific, however, when it came to archaeological digs. Archaeology was an emerging discipline at the time, and I have read some reports that Bingham also wanted to get more back to Yale than was really allowed for permanent export. Whatever the reason, while we have objects from Machu Picchu today, some information is lost to us that modern archaeologists would be careful to preserve.

Notwithstanding this loss of data, objects from Machu Picchu have a great cultural resonance. It was a sore point for Peruvians and the Peruvian government for many years that so many were in Connecticut. The original arrangement had been that Peru could ask for them back at any time. With a sustained campaign for their return by President Alan Garcia and proof that Bingham viewed the objects as Peru’s, an agreement was reached in 2010.

But Should I Visit The Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha?

All that is a lot of interesting back story. But is the museum one which is worth visiting while in Cusco? I would answer this question with a qualified “yes”. If you just want to see some archaeological finds or learn more about the Incas generally, then there are plenty of museums to choose from and you don’t need to come to this one. You could try the Museo Larco in Lima, or the Museo Inka right here in Cusco. Remember, Machu Picchu was not as important a site in Inca times as it has become today. So there are some moderately interesting finds, but nothing really astounding.

I keep coming back though to the fact that this is the only place to see finds from Machu Picchu itself. So if this is what drew you to Peru, it may be worth setting some time aside for a visit. The museum is well-presented, and gives a good amount of background information for your Machu Picchu trip. If you’re a very visual person, seeing objects (ceramics, metal objects, khipu) that people used in their daily or ritual life may help you to connect with the site. The fact that it is a much smaller collection than the Museo Inka may even be a plus, as you don’t need to commit hours here but get a fairly representative Cusco museum experience.

Ultimately the choice is yours. The Museo Machu Picchu Casa Concha isn’t part of the boleto turistico or any other joint tickets. You will buy a stand-alone ticket if you want to visit. My motivation in visiting was to see objects from Machu Picchu itself; and to see how the museum positioned the controversies around Bingham and this collection of artefact. On neither count did it disappoint.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5