Mexico City, Mexico — The Government of Mexico has received 60 archaeological pieces of Mexican origin from the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe. The pieces arrived at that American institution between 1941 and 1972, several of them through a private collector
According to the opinion of the INAH, they come from the Mexican Central Highlands, Oaxaca and Nayarit, and from the western and northern regions and date from between 200 BC and 1200 AD.
On Friday, the Government of Mexico, through the Consulate in Albuquerque, received the restitution of 60 archaeological pieces of Mexican origin, voluntarily delivered by the School of Advanced Research (SAR), located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
According to a preliminary opinion through experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the majority of cultural assets come from the Mexican Central Highlands, others from Oaxaca and Nayarit as well as the western and northern regions and date from between 200 BC and 1200 AD
The archaeological pieces arrived at the SAR between 1941 and 1972, several of them through a private collector. Not knowing with certainty the legal origin of the pieces, the SAR decided to return these objects of heritage to the people of Mexico.
At the delivery ceremony, Consul Norma Ang Sánchez thanked the head of the Registry of the SAR Indigenous Arts Research Center and head of Projects, Jeniffer Day, for her initiative to voluntarily return the pieces to the Mexican nation.
Likewise, she highlighted that this act demonstrates the commitment and ethics of institutions such as the SAR in the protection of cultural heritage.
In the near future, the 60 archaeological pieces will be repatriated to Mexico for delivery to the INAH authorities.
The Government of Mexico reaffirms its commitment to actively participate in strengthening national and international legal frameworks for the protection of cultural heritage. Private collectors abroad, who currently have pieces that are part of Mexico’s heritage, as well as auction houses, are invited to join in the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage and to return them for study, conservation and dissemination since they are objects that bear witness to the identity and memory of the native peoples of Mexico.
