Machu Picchu and the Inca Legacy
Yale University and Peru Dispute Ownership of Incan Artifacts
Contests over objects of cultural heritage have never been isolated to any particular section of the globe. Bitter struggles have erupted over the ownership rights to Greek, Italian, and Egyptian antiquities (among others), and many North American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty, have encountered legal action from countries that are petitioning for the return of their national treasures. But, one of the most aggravated fights in recent years has been the ongoing skirmish between Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and the Government of Peru, regarding the rights to artifacts and research objects that were excavated at Machu Picchu.
The Excavation of Machu Picchu and the Ownership Dispute
Machu Picchu, the “lost city” of the Incas and a UNESCO-designated World Heritage site, was discovered by Yale professor Hiram Bingham III in 1911. Between the years of 1912 and 1915, Bingham gained access to the site and excavated roughly 170 tombs, sending a great number of artifacts back to Yale.
This fact has led to a disagreement over ownership of the objects in question. Whereas the disputes over claims to many Greek, Italian, and Egyptian artifacts have arisen because the aforementioned governments claim that the objects were removed from the country due to looting, Bingham’s digs were authorized by the government of Peru and the pieces were inspected on their way to Yale. This gives the conflict between Yale and the Government of Peru a particular layer of complexity.
The dispute between the parties surfaced due to a clause in Bingham’s original agreement with the country which stated that the Government of Peru would reserve the right to request that the objects be returned, but no timeline was given to outline when the request must be made. When this hazy information was coupled with the presidency of Alejandro Toledo, a leader whose platform included a personal commitment to honoring the heritage of the indigenous peoples in Peru, the debate over ownership of the cultural objects intensified.
Under Toledo's guidance, the Government of Peru demanded that all artifacts be returned. In response to this demand, Yale countered-argued that the university had only retained the objects that they had title to and that the rest had been returned to Peru in the 1920s. To further complicate matters, the National Geographic Society reported that Yale had, indeed, returned some of the objects during the 1920s, but that their records did not indicate a return of all the objects that Yale claimed to have given back.
The Road to Reaching an Agreement
After extensive debate, the negotiations reached a boiling point and finally, in September 2007, the matter appeared to have been settled. During that month, a joint statement was issued by Yale University and the Government of Peru, indicating that an agreement had been reached. Yale agreed to relinquish their hold on the remaining objects and return all objects of museum-quality to Peru. In exchange, several pieces that were deemed to be of research value would remain at Yale for further study and a selected number of other pieces would be exhibited on a world tour. The revenue from the tour would be used to build a museum in Cusco, Peru, the historic seat of the Inca Empire, and those objects would eventually be placed in the museum when it was completed in late 2009 or early 2010. This memorandum gave both parties sixty days to draft and sign a final agreement.
However, the caveat that some of the objects must remain at Yale for further study caused controversy within the country of Peru and this ultimately led to a 30-day extension being added to the original 60-day deadline given to approve a final contract. When this 30-day extension passed, the parties agreed to another extension, but this time they declined to disclose its length to the public.
Thus, at the current moment, it appears that the negotiations are at a stand-still. Yet, despite this fact, it seems that hope is never far off. Mariana Mould de Pease, a Peruvian historian who advocates for the objects to be returned to Peru, has put forth the claim that although Peru gave Bingham the access he needed to complete his work at Machu Picchu, Bingham certainly provided a service to Peru as he elevated awareness of Machu Picchu to a global level. As such, Mould de Peace argues, “we [the people and Government of Peru] have to work with Yale.” With a spirit of cooperation such as this one, hopefully the next few months will see a return to the negotiating table and the development of a final agreement that will meet the needs of all considered. But, no matter what the final outcome is, one thing is for sure: when it comes to scuffles over the rights to cultural heritage, there is no easy solution.
