Peru-Yale Machu Picchu Controversy Part 2

posted on May 8th, 2008 in Andes Mountains, Archaeology, Incas, Machu Picchu, Peru, Peru-Yale Controversy

Peru Seeks Return of Machu Picchu Artifacts [8min]

Source: NPR “All Things Considered” Diane Orson reports.

March 30, 2006

In 1911, Yale history professor Hiram Bingham III and a small group of guides
stumbled upon a lost city of the Incas: the fortress of Machu Picchu, high in
Peru’s Andes Mountains. For centuries, the treasures found there had been
lost to the Peruvian people. Once found, they disappeared again, going off to
Yale’s Peabody Museum. Now Peru wants the Incan relics returned. During three
trips to Machu Picchu, Bingham excavated hundreds of objects, including silver
statues, jewelry, musical instruments and human bones. The relics are part of a
multimedia exhibition at Yale’s Peabody Museum in New Haven, Conn. Two of
Bingham’s trips were co-funded by Yale University and the National Geographic
Society. When Yale launched a major touring exhibition featuring the artifacts
three years ago, the Peruvian government started negotiations to get them back.
Yale offered to divide the items up and help Peru install its share in a museum
near the site. Peruvian officials would not agree to any joint projects until
Yale acknowledged that all of the objects belong to the Peruvian people. Yale
refused. Peruvian officials say the dispute is between their government and
Yale University, and does not involve the U.S. government. They have not
announced when Peru will file suit.

Listen to the Program:

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Peru-Yale Machu Picchu Controversy Part 1

posted on May 7th, 2008 in Andes Mountains, Archaeology, Incas, Machu Picchu, Peru, Peru-Yale Controversy

In this and subsquent posts I’ll keep readers updated on the current controversy about the thousands of artifacts taken from the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru nearly a century ago by the Yale historian, Hiram Bingham. Bingham “discovered” Machu Picchu in 1911 and, backed by the National Geographic Society, he returned with large expeditions in 1912 and 1914-1915. Each time, Bingham and his team shipped crates filled with archaeological discoveries to Yale from the now world-famous site. Yale is currently embroiled in an escalating dispute with Peru over the return of Bingham’s treasures, which are on display as part of the Yale’s permanent museum collection. Recently, a Peruvian team visiting Yale discovered that, far from the 5,000+ artifacts it was thought Bingham had acquired, Yale had more than 40,000 Machu Picchu artifacts–many of them still in unopened wooden crates that Bingham had shipped back. Peru is hoping to gain their return before the 100th anniversary of Bingham’s discovery of Machu Picchu in 2011. –Kim MacQuarrie

(click below to read Part 1)

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