Press "Enter" to skip to content

Oregon woman returns Mexican archaeological pieces from private collection

Mexico City, Mexico — A total of 32 archaeological pieces found in the United States have been returned to Mexico. In a joint statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and INAH reported the pieces were returned from a private collector in Eugene, Oregon.

The collection includes anthropomorphic figures, pots and vases and were voluntarily returned to Mexico through the Portland consul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), in coordination with the federal Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), recovered the 32 pieces which were returned by American citizen Marylou Morton.

In August 2023, Mrs. Morton announced her decision to return the pieces, which had been transferred from Mexico to the United States in the middle of the last century. Consul Carlos Quesnel Meléndez traveled to the city of Eugene, Oregon, to formally receive the pieces.

Marylou Morton, right, returned the pieces. Photo: SRE August 13, 2024.

The reports made by INAH specialists confirmed that the 32 pieces are movable monuments owned by the Mexican nation, defined and protected in accordance with the Federal Law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones.

Photo: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) August 13, 2024.

Of the recovered objects, 31 are archaeological monuments of between 300 BC and 1521 AD, while the remaining one is a historical asset.