No subject

Machu Picchu artifacts to be returned to Peru
Yale agrees to give up more than 300 pieces, but the scope of the accord =
is
unclear.
By Adriana Le=F3n and Patrick J. McDonnell
Special to The Times

September 18, 2007

LIMA, Peru =97 Authorities here are hailing a deal reached with Yale
University to return some of the thousands of artifacts carted away by =
Hiram
Bingham III, the swashbuckling historian and explorer who stumbled upon =
the
Inca citadel of Machu Picchu almost a century ago.

But doubts have surfaced about the scope of the accord and about Yale's
right to retain certain parts of the collection for "ongoing research," =
as a
university statement said.

"It's good that the pieces are to be sent back, but it's absurd that =
this
doesn't cover all of them," said Luis Lumbreras, former director of =
Peru's
National Institute of Culture. "If Yale wants to continue studying the
pieces, they can come to Peru."

When the decision became public here, media reports indicated that Peru
would get most or all of its artifacts back. But Yale since has =
reiterated
that a substantial part of the collection will remain on the =
university's
New Haven, Conn., campus.

"This is good news in principle, but there is a serious problem: We now =
have
two versions," said Mariana Mould de Peace, a historian who has written
about Machu Picchu. "The government is not speaking with clarity."

The decision to return the objects comes as research institutions =
worldwide
grapple with ever more assertive demands for the return of cultural
artifacts to their places of origin. Last month, the J. Paul Getty =
Museum in
Los Angeles agreed under pressure to return 40 prized artifacts =
allegedly
looted from Italy.

The Peruvian government had threatened to take Yale to court to regain
control of the material. The Ivy League institution was keen to avoid a
potentially embarrassing legal brawl with a Third World nation seeking =
to
recover what some call the country's "plundered" patrimony.

The administration of Peruvian President Alan Garcia has called the =
accord a
breakthrough that settles the long-term dispute about Machu Picchu =
artifacts
at Yale.

Officials at Yale stressed the "spirit of collaboration" embodied in the
agreement, in which Yale will acknowledge Peru's title to all of the
excavated objects.

Yale President Richard C. Levin said most of the 370 or so "intact, =
whole
objects" of museum quality would be returned to Peru and form the core =
of a
museum the Peruvian government has agreed to construct in Cuzco, the =
former
Inca capital that is the jumping-off point to visit Machu Picchu.

Under the agreement, Yale and the Peruvian government will sponsor a
traveling exhibition of artifacts that are to be installed in the new
museum.

"This is a pioneering approach to dealing with the problems of cultural
patrimony," Levin said in a telephone interview from New Haven. "This =
could
be a great model."

The objects destined to remain at Yale, Levin said, will mostly be used =
for
research into Inca culture, making use of the latest technology, =
including
carbon-dating. Some other pieces are to be retained for display at the
Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale.

An inventory is currently underway to quantify the number of artifacts
involved, said Helaine Klasky, a Yale spokeswoman. There is no firm =
number
for how many will go back to Peru, she said.

Yale holds thousands of objects, including fragments of pottery, stone =
work,
metal pieces, and bone excavated from the site.

A scenic fortress along a mist-shrouded Andean ridge, Machu Picchu has
become Peru's top tourist draw and a big income generator. It is closely
entwined with the national identity even though it is neither the =
largest
nor the oldest of pre-Colombian ruins.

Bingham first came across the ruins in 1911 and later achieved fame as =
the
explorer who found the "lost city" of the Incas. Experts now say Machu
Picchu was never a city at all, but a royal retreat that was probably
abandoned in the 16th century, about the time the Spanish arrived in =
Peru.

Peruvian authorities have alleged that the 74 boxes of artifacts carted =
off
by Bingham were lent to Yale, which was obliged to return them within 18
months. Yale maintains Bingham removed the material legally. The =
university
denies wrongdoing and says the new deal is completely voluntary.

patrick.mcdonnell@

latimes.com

Special correspondent Le=F3n reported from Lima and Times staff writer
McDonnell from Buenos Aires.