Conclusion: The Spell Is Cast

Abstract

The Urubamba Valley is a locus of larger ideas about Andean land, life, place, and memory. It is a vertical domain whose cascading environments acutely respond to and reflect the climatic implications of elevation above sea level (asl). The Urubamba attracts, drawing in people to settle and farm. Its magnetic quality is evident in the many visitors who come from afar seeking scenery, extinct civilization, folklore and/or adventure sports. The Urubamba is a container of secrets, harboring elements that only persistent inquiry reveals. Since the Inca period, the Urubamba’s mid-section known as the Sacred Valley offers a case study of how the elite, whatever the culture, take possession of preferred territory. In this work the Urubamba is examined for changes on two very different scales: the effects of the Spanish Conquest that began 500 years ago and, more recently, the past half century in the life of the author. The Urubamba holds personal memories and offers a reflexive perspective on the transformative experience of doing fieldwork there. Lastly, the Urubamba Valley is discussed in terms of the meaning of place in understanding the world.

This multifaceted account of the Urubamba Valley combines survey information, personal experiences, landscape descriptions, commentaries on trends, analyses of past events, and detailed studies of specific elements to convey a diachronic semi-personalized view of a compelling region. This work offers reflections about the meaning of a given place as an ingathering of the scientific, phenomenological and reflexive dimensions of knowledge. Ideas recurring in the book fall into eight themes.