Should Yale Return Artifacts?

For some time now, those interested in the museum world have been following Peru's efforts to have artifacts from Hiram Bingham's 1911 expedition to Machu Picchu returned from the Yale Peabody Museum.

The Yale Daily News recently printed a rather in depth look at the controversy, including an interesting quote by the influential archaeologist Lord Colin Renfrew of Cambridge University, "The position of Yale, as reported, seems a very contradictory one. . .If it's a loan, then it's legally the property of the lender. I find the whole thing breathtakingly arrogant."

The article does a rather good job of hitting on many of the important issues. In a debate such as this one, people involved with the collections will no doubt bring up their safety. People advocating for the British Museum and its decision not to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece, for example, have used similar arguments in the recent past.

The article continues by quoting Yale archaeologist Richard Burger as stating, "Peru has a long history of problems in terms of security of its' collections. . ."

The Yale Daily News noted that Peru's National Museum was recently the victim of a robbery involving over 4,000 artifacts.

Pointing out that the artifacts may be safer in one country or another, however, has no legal bearing, and while Burger's concerns over the safety of the artifacts are interesting, there is little doubt that a court would not give that fact much consideration. Both Yale and Peru argue that the documents surrounding various agreements between the government of Peru and Bingham indicate that their side should be awarded custody of the artifacts.

The Yale Daily News article concludes by noting that, ". . . even if the lawsuit is filed, neither party -- given the utter significance of the precious artifacts in question -- will concede easily."

Machu Picchu is a significant archaeological site on many levels. Not only is it important as a part of Peru's cultural heritage, but Yale will certainly argue that it has played an important role in the intellectual development of its' institutions' more recent history as well. Exactly where and how many of the spectacular finds from Machu Picchu will make an impact in the future is unclear at this point. One can only hope that the issue is resolved in a constructive, intelligent, and fair manner.