Oregon woman returns 32 archaeological pieces to Mexico

The Mexican Consulate in Portland, Oregon, will soon repatriate 32 pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts turned over by a U.S. citizen, according to a statement by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Oregon resident Marylou Morton voluntarily returned the pieces after she first expressed her desire to do so in August 2023. Consul Carlos Quesnel Meléndez recently traveled to the city of Eugene, Oregon, to formally receive the artifacts.

“The reports by INAH specialists have confirmed that the 32 pieces are movable works owned by the Mexican nation,” the statement says. “Thirty-one pieces are archaeological works manufactured between 300 B.C. and A.D. 1521, while the remaining one is a historical asset.”

The consulate will send the Mexican archaeological artifacts home from Oregon in a diplomatic pouch so that INAH specialists can issue their professional opinion based on the physical inspection of the pieces.

In the statement, the Mexican Government thanked Morton for the voluntary restitution of the heritage assets. It has also called on the population to restrain from participating in the plundering of archaeological objects to preserve Mexico’s cultural heritage.

The artifacts will add to the more than 14,000 items recovered by Mexico as part of the #MiPatrimonioNoSeVende initiative (My Heritage is Not for Sale). This strategy is part of the current administration’s mission to reclaim, safeguard and promote cultural heritage unlawfully taken from Mexico. The U.S. has been the top source of reclaimed artifacts, followed by Spain and Italy.

Mexico has also recovered cultural heritage from the Netherlands, Switzerland and France, among other countries.

So far this year, Mexico has retrieved 30 artifacts from Los Angeles, 22 from Philadelphia and 35 from Seattle. The latest recovery included artifacts originally from the Cintalapa region in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico.

Mexico News Daily