Machu Picchu, the City of the Incas, used to have thousands of artefacts available for Peruvian archeologists to examine. But this chance was denied as Hiram Bingham shipped most of the artefacts to the United States of America. In 1911 Bingham discovered Machu Picchu. One year after he was shipping the artefacts were loaned to Yale University. The Peruvian government gave the archaeologist the approval only on the condition that the artefacts should be given back as soon as the Peruvian government requests of it. So in the beginning of 1920’s the Peruvian government in order to make a part of the exhibition of the Peruvian National Museum requested the artefacts to be returned from Yale. And indeed about 500 artefacts were given back by the university, but the thing is that most of them were either not of great historical importance or the artefacts were damaged. The University refused to give the other 4,500 artefacts back justifying such kind of behavior by the consideration that the collection became a university property.
In July of 2005 having no progress in the negotiations, Peru decided to start legal actions against Yale in order to return at last the relics of the Incas’ city. Right after Hiram Bingham had exported the artefacts, political commentators from all over the world condemned Yale’s actions. The relics were on loan only and it was illegal and wrong from the moral side of the question.
Nowadays Peruvian people have no opportunity to study their background and history in a proper way. Their national heritage, Machu Picchu’s artefacts, are everywhere but not in the native land. We consider to live in the civilized society. Why then, I wonder, one of the main treasures - the culture – is not taken into account? Peruvian artefacts are gradually being destroyed while relics’ owners pay miserable attention to their restoration.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Andrew Schwartz
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