Peru Decides to Sue

Photo: Yale Peabody Museum

Yale that is.  Yale Daily News reporter Paul Needham, who has been following the story, posted the news today on his paper's website that last Friday, lawyers representing the government of Peru filed suit in Washington, D.C. district court to demand that Yale return all of the artifacts it holds from the Inca settlement of Macchu Pichu. Those are the pieces excavated early in the 20th century by the Yale explorer Hiram Bingham and deposited by him with the university.

Last year it appeared that Yale and Peru were close to finalizing an agreement whereby Yale would return most of the items to Peru and assist with  a museum to display them near Macchu Pichu. But that agreement may have fallen victim to complexities of Peru's internal politics.

The Yale counsel general still hopes that both sides can reach "a creative, constructive resolution".