Yale University has accepted that Peru is the rightful owner of thousands of artefacts removed from the historic Machu Picchu site nearly a century ago (Yale/Peru joint statement). Over 4,000 items including pottery, jewellery and bones were sent to Yale by the re-discoverer of the Inca site, Yale alumnus Hiram Bingham (well covered by Yale Daily News and also by The Hartford Courant, as well as BBC, Reuters, AFP, and others). Peru has been insisting that the artefacts were only loaned and threatening court action unless they are returned.

Inside Higher Ed’s in depth analysis suggests, “The agreement, which extends beyond the artifacts in dispute, promotes the idea of research collaboration between Yale and Peru and ends a bitter legal dispute over a prized collection.” But the LA Times says some Peruvians are still unhappy, citing doubts about the university’s right to retain parts of the collection for “ongoing research”. “It’s good that the pieces are to be sent back, but it’s absurd that this doesn’t cover all of them. If Yale wants to continue studying the pieces, they can come to Peru,” said Luis Lumbreras, former director of Peru’s National Institute of Culture.

Meanwhile, down in Peru there are increasing fears that the Machu Picchu site itself is crumbling under the feet of growing numbers of tourists (Houston Chronicle).

Image: Machu Picchu by Allard Schmidt / via WikiMedia