subject: Bingham, Yale and Machu Picchu - An Uneasy Relationship [print this page] Bingham, Yale and Machu Picchu - An Uneasy Relationship
Over the last decade, a dispute has been running between Yale University and the Peruvian government based on the famous archaeological site of Machu Picchu. The problems began over 90 years ago when Hiram Bingham discovered the site. Find out more about the problems in this article.
Who is Hiram Bingham?
Although not an archaeologist, Hiram Bingham was an explorer and made his most important discovery on July 24 when Melchor Arteaga led him to Machu Picchu, then a site forgotten by all but a couple of locals.
What does he have to do with Yale University?
Bingham first visited the Andes and encountered Machu Picchu with the Yale Peruvian Expedition in 1911. He returned to the site in 1912 and 1915 with support from the National Geographic Society and Yale University, and began the process of making Machu Picchu one of the most recognised historical landmarks on the planet.
Why is the Peruvian government at odds with Yale?
When Bingham visited the site in 1912 he excavated a number of artifacts which were transported to Yale for study. For years the Peruvian government claimed that the items were only on loan to Yale, with the University claiming that it had returned all borrowed items and held full title to the rest. In 2008 things flared up with Peru suing Yale in federal court, threatening a year later to file criminal charges.
What is the situation between Yale and Peru?
An uneasy provisional agreement agreement was made between Peru and Yale towards the end of 2010 that has now materialized into a formal signing of a partnership agreement. This will establish a joint research centre in Cusco, the nearest city to Machu Picchu, at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco and, importantly, the return of the artifacts to Peru.
Will the artifacts be on display?
The facility will be called the U.N.S.A.A.C. or Yale International Center for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Culture and will be housed in the Casa Concha, an Inca palace in the center of Cusco
It will include a storage site for the archaeological artifacts, which include ceramics, stone tools and human and animal bones, a museum exhibition space open to the public, and a laboratory and research area.
Students and faculty members from Peru are expected to take research-based trips to Yale; their Yale university counterparts will also visit Peru to visit the center for training, research projects and field work. Meanwhile, a small number of artifacts will be loaned to Yale for display at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
What do you think of the history between Yale and Peru? Who do you think is in the right? Do you think the dispute has been well resolved?
