Peru Wants Artifacts from Machu Picchu Back from Yale

Archaeologists have usually been employed by organizations in rich countries, especially in the past, while archaeology has often been done in poor nations, where many of the richest archaeological sites are to be found. While the plundering of archaeological treasures by conquering nations is ages old, the removal of artifacts by archaeologists to their foreign museums and universities is more of a 20th century phenomenon.

In 1911, Machu Picchu was brought to the attention of the West by Hiram Bingham, an American historian then employed as a lecturer at Yale University. He began the archaeological studies there and completed a survey of the area. A collection of artifacts from Machu Picchu eventually wound up at Yale, where they apparently stayed in storage for decades.

Yale's Peabody Museum in 2002 created an exhibition using this material. After a national tour, the exhibition was mounted at the Peabody Museum itself on September 10, 2005. (There is an article on the exhibit in the Yale Bulletin and Calendar, marking the start of the tour.)

Peru maintains that much of the material held by Yale and used in the exhibition belongs to the Government of Peru (in the name of the people of Peru). Yale, according to the New York Times

Yale has staunchly rebuffed Peru's claim, stating that it returned all borrowed objects in the 1920's and has retained only those to which it has full title

Thus, according to the Guardian

Oscar Maurtua, the foreign minister, added: "We are convinced that we have sufficient proof to win in court." He added that Lima would prefer an out-of-court settlement. Any court action would probably be held in Connecticut.

A spokesman for Yale, Tom Conroy, told the Associated Press news agency that the university had been having discussions with the Peruvian government. "We are hoping for a resolution that is satisfactory to all involved," he said.

Machu Pichu is a UNESCO World Heritage site. According to the National Geographic, it is visited by more than 300,000 people per year. Indeed, it is one of the most important tourist destinations in Peru and in Latin America. The availability of the artifacts found at the site is not only a matter of national heritage, but of the attractiveness of the site to tourists, and of the money they bring to Peru.

The controversy has been covered in the International press, e.g.:

* "Yale devolvería al Perú piezas de Machu Picchu", Quechua Network, December 16, 2005.
* Rick Vecchio, "Peru plans to sue Yale for artifacts", the Associated Press via the Boston Globe, December 1, 2005.
* Sibylla Brodzinsky, "Peru may sue Yale for Inca relics' return", The Guardian, December 5, 2005.
* Domen Lombergar, Art World, December 6, 2006.
* Danna Harman, "90 years later, Peru battles Yale over Incan artifacts", The Christian Science Monitor, December 29, 2005.
* Hugh Eakin, "Inca Show Pits Yale Against Peru", The New York Times, February 1, 2006. (registration required.)

One certainly hopes this situation can be solved amicably through negotiation. Machu Picchu is a part of the world heritage, as well as that of Peru, and there is value in people outside Peru being able to see these materials. But Machu Picchu is a treasure not only to the people of Peru, but to all the descendents of the Inca, and they would have more access to the artifacts were they in Peru. U.S. courts would probably be fair, but one can certainly see the opjection of the Peruvian Government to subjecting what it feels to be legitimate claims to the courts of another nation.