“What’s New at Machu Picchu” is the lecture topic at the meeting Monday, April 3, of the Fresno County Archaeological Society/San Joaquin Valley Chapter, Archaeological Institute of America. It will be at 7 p.m. in the Peters Auditorium of the University Business Center at California State University, Fresno. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dr. James S. Kus, a Fresno State professor of geography and a Registered Professional Archaeologist, will speak. He has worked in Peru since 1966 and has visited the Machu Picchu archaeological site almost 20 times.

Since its discovery (or re-discovery) in 1911 by Yale professor and explorer Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu has become the premier tourist attraction in Peru, and one of the biggest in South America. Questions about who built it, why it was built and why it was built where it was were debated in the first half of the 20th century. In recent years, research has provided answers to these basic questions.

Today, the two most important unresolved issues associated with Machu Picchu are the future status of artifacts removed from Peru by Hiram Bingham and how best to protect the site in the face of ever-increasing tourist numbers and commercial interests.

Kus has been a professor at Fresno State since 1970. He has directed or co-directed numerous archaeological projects in California and Peru and has published extensively on Peruvian archaeology and geography. For the past 20 years, he has led tours to Peru for Fresno State, the Archaeological Institute of America and private groups. This June, he will lead a similar tour for the Fresno Art Museum.

For further information, contact Kus at 559.278-5236 or 559.325-8020.