Yale must return ancient artifacts

About the same time that Prescott Bush, grandfather of George W. Bush, was allegedly looting Geronimo's grave in Oklahoma, another Yale alumnus, Hiram Bingham, was also digging up Native American remains -- but from the ancient Incan citadel Machu Picchu, in Peru. Both men brought their excavated treasures back to New Haven, Conn.

It is rumored that Prescott Bush returned with only one item: the Apache leader's skull, which he kindly donated to his secret society, "Skull and Bones." Bingham, a Yale faculty member at the time, exported 4,902 artifacts, including items made from gold, silver, wood, stone and pottery, which he turned over to Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History for anthropological study.

Last week, Peru's ambassador to the United States Eduardo Ferrero delivered a letter to Yale president Richard Levin threatening legal action if the artifacts taken by Bingham are not returned to his country, according to the Associated Press.

The Peruvians claim that their former president, Augusto Leguia, gave Bingham "permission to temporarily export the objects for scientific ends." Peru maintains that the terms of the agreement were only 12 months, followed by an 18-month extension. That term ended January 27, 1916.

In the dispute, which has dragged on to this day, Yale is claiming full ownership of the ancient goods, most of which were incorporated into an elaborate Peabody exhibit in 2003. Yale officials argue that Peru gave up its rights long ago and point out that the artifacts have been in their possession for more than 90 years.

What Yale isn't admitting is that the South American country has been unsuccessfully petitioning for repatriation of the relics since at least 1930. At that time, Yale offered to return some, but not all of the pieces. Peru indignantly refused.

Within the past few years, the Peruvian government has again initiated talks with Yale in hopes of recouping the artifacts. Yale, according to university spokesman Tom Conroy, is currently "looking into" Peru's claims, though he admits the university has "been interested in collaborating with the Peruvians to resolve this situation amicably" for some time now.

So what has the Old Blue been doing for most of the last century?

While it's true that a lawsuit is probably not the best course of action, Peru should feel justified in its decision to threaten one.

It is doubtful that either the Peruvians or the Yale administration wants an international tribunal on their hands, which is most likely why Peru hasn't actually filed any charges yet. But the conversation has gone on long enough. If Bingham, as a representative of Yale, dubiously acquired the artifacts by deliberately deceiving the Peruvian government, it is past time to return them.

Surely Yale knows more than it's letting on. Peru claims to have ample evidence to win their case in court, and it's likely that Yale has access to illuminating documentation as well. After all, they do have Bingham's field notes from the expedition.

Yale has had more than enough time to seriously investigate the nature of Bingham's agreement with the Peruvian government. It's time to come clean.

In just a few short years, Peru will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Machu Picchu's discovery, an event that should draw a record number of visitors to the site. Even now between 1,500 and 2,000 tourists visit the site each day during the peak season, and it's been estimated that there will soon be nearly 800,000 tourists traveling to the ancient citadel annually.

I doubt so many people will be visiting New Haven.

With the amount of public interest that's been generated, at least some of the artifacts from the Yale expedition ought to be displayed where they were originally found. And with the revenue the site can potentially rake in, the Peruvian government should be well equipped to study and protect artifacts, putting to rest any outdated claims that the items will be better off in Connecticut.

It's time for Yale to take action. Peru's allegations aren't merely fanciful rumors about a boyhood prank carried out under the cover of dark, and we know that Bingham took much more than just one Native American's skull. Yale ought to stop acting like an over-privileged secret society and come clean about its past dealings in South America.

Andrew Rennekamp is a first-year Biomedical Ph.D. student from East Stroudsburg, Pa. Any Ice Today Lady? appears on Tuesdays.

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