Yale's Repatriation of the Machu Picchu Artifacts to Peru
Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, p. 4587, Springer, 2014
3 Pages Posted: 18 Feb 2014
Date Written: February 14, 2014
Abstract
In 1911, a professor of South American history from Yale University drudged through the Andean jungle and rediscovered the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. Hiram Bingham had received permission from the government of Peru to return to Yale with 40,000 artifacts to study over an 18-month period. The artifacts were, for the most part, shards and fragments of pottery, jewelry, and human remains. While they were valuable for scientific research, only 350 of the artifacts were of museum quality.The 18-month period for study came and went, and Yale did not return the objects to Peru. "The whole matter has assumed a very large importance in the eyes of the Peruvians, who feel that we are trying to rob their country of its treasure.”
Keywords: Machu Picchu, Peru, Repatriation, Archaeology
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