Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Yale to Hand Back 4000 Artifacts to Machu Picchu
After years of battling over the thousands of pieces of pottery, jewelry and bones, taken from Machu Picchu 90 years ago, Peru is winning the war. The artifacts were lent to Yale University for 18 months but the university has apparently kept them ever since one of its alumni, U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham, rediscovered Machu Picchu in the Andes in 1911.
Like museums in Greece or Egypt trying to get the United Kingdom and other countries to return their ancient treasures, Peru has been fighting to get back theirs from the US. Since we officially frown on imperialism, why do we drag our feet returning that stuff?
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, South America, Peru
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carl Oct 4th 2007 4:31PM
Because we think we have the right to control the world, and countries like Peru have no say because we are America... we can do whatever we want.
What is truely sad is the artifacts were primarily packed away and out of public view and yet Yale has still been fighting returning them. THEY WEREN'T ON DISPLAY, they were collecting dust.
I am glad Peru is finally going to get some of their national treasures back. I visited Peru and Machu Picchu last year and learned the history of the "discovery" of Machu Picchu as well as the artifacts that were being held hostage by Yale. Truely sad.
And people wonder why the U.S. has a bad reputation when visiting foreign countries.
dc Oct 5th 2007 3:27PM
For the record Hiram Bingham didn't rediscover Machu Picchu. He merely brought it to the world's attention. There were a few other Westerners that reached the ruins years before him in addition to the local Quechans who were still living in the ruins.