• The set of elements includes bone remains, pieces made of jade and ceramics of different cultural affiliations and temporalities
• The heritage objects were returned from Germany, Argentina, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, and delivered to the INAH
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Legal Advisory Office, handed over 279 cultural assets to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), recovered by the Mexican embassies in Germany, Argentina, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as by our country’s consulates in the American cities of Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nogales, Oxnard, Seattle and Tucson.
In accordance with the opinions prepared by INAH specialists, it was determined that the pieces belong to the cultural heritage of the Mexican nation, protected by the Federal Law onbre Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones.
The restitution of cultural objects is the result of the joint work of the Mexican authorities and their representative offices abroad; all of these entities have managed to return heritage that was in the possession of private individuals, either through the action of local authorities, seizures, stopping auctions, or through negotiations with academic institutions and museums that, following the approach of the Government of Mexico, have agreed to repatriate objects that were part of their collections.
Among the lots of restored pieces, the most notable are the remains of an infant’s bones, dating from between 800 and 500 BC (Montreal); a tripod mortar dating from between 2500 BC and 1521 AD (Germany); a jade mask carved in the Classic period of Mesoamerica (Los Angeles); a clay pot created in the cultural area of Western Mesoamerica between 200 and 800 AD (Las Vegas); and bifacial knife from the Mexican Central Plateau (Tucson) and 19 archaeological pieces made in various periods and areas of the current national territory, dating from the period between the years 1200 and 1521 AD (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
This achievement adds to the restitution of more than 14 thousand cultural objects, thanks to the actions carried out by the Government of Mexico, through the creation and implementation of protocols, legal strategies and awareness campaigns such as #MiPatrimonioNoSeVendewith the aim of promoting the repatriation of Mexican cultural heritage illegally located abroad.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, together with other federal government institutions, are constantly working to raise awareness about the importance of preserving Mexico’s cultural heritage and reaffirm their commitment to work, within the scope of their powers, to recover heritage that is illegally located abroad.
