Mexico recovered 50 archaeological pieces returned by private individuals from several countries

Mexico recovered 50 pre-Hispanic archeological pieces returned by individuals from several countries, informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Foreign Ministry informed that it delivered “more than 50 pre-Hispanic archeological pieces recovered by Mexican embassies and consulates abroad, which private individuals voluntarily presented to Mexican embassies and consulates in different countries”.

The Federal Ministry of Culture received the historical pieces that “under the Law on Archeological, Artistic, and Historic Monuments and Zones, are part of the cultural heritage of our country,” a statement said.

The pieces were voluntarily returned to the Mexican embassies in Austria, Canada, and Sweden, and the consulates in Vancouver, Canada, and Albuquerque, in the USA, by citizens residing in those countries, added the official report.

The delivery was made through the National Institute of Anthropology and History, which oversees the expert’s reports.

The studies confirm that they are pieces belonging to different cultures from different periods of the pre-Hispanic era.

In particular, it highlights an urn of Zapotec origin, ancient culture of Mexico’s southeast that, according to the opinion of the anthropologists, “was elaborated between the years 600 and 900 A.D.”.

Another remarkable piece is “a fragment of a column taken from the architectural structure known as El Palacio, in the archaeological site of Santa Rosa Xtampak”.

That site was founded 300 years before Christ, and between the VII and IX centuries of the present era, it was the capital of the Chenes, which was abandoned in the IX century, before the arrival of the Europeans.

The delivery is part of Mexico’s efforts to “recover its cultural heritage illegally stolen from the country and is a product of the awareness of the value of this possession”.

This plan has been strengthened through the campaign “My heritage is not for sale”.
Mexico maintains a campaign to prevent the looting of heritage sites and the illicit trafficking of historical and archeological goods, which cause the loss of information on the context of the pieces.

The campaign has recovered almost 9,000 pieces of historical and cultural heritage during the current federal administration’s three and a half years.

With information from Sputnik