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Latino Daily News

Tuesday November 13, 2012

Yale University Returns Final Machu Picchu Artifacts to Peru

In 1911, archaeologist Hiram Bingham brought the Peruvian citadel of Machu Picchu international attention.

Bingham and his team went on to take a number of artifacts from the site to the United States, a move the Peruvians claimed was only intended to be temporary.

More than 45,000 pieces were taken to the U.S., including metal pieces, ceramics, and bone fragments.

In 2010, a deal for the artifacts, which resided at Yale University, was made and both sides agreed they would be returned to Peru.

Last year, the first shipments were flown to Cusco, Peru with the last of the remaining artifacts, 127 boxes, arriving on Sunday.

The latest pieces with soon be transferred to “Casa Concha,” where the first two shipments are housed.

Sitting 8,200 feet above seas level, the citadel of Machu Picchu was built by the Incas in the 15th century and now Peru’s most popular tourist attraction, bringing in more than 1 million visitors each year.