Newsletter May 2007

Smugglers are depleting Peru’s heritage, stealing statues, gold finery, and other treasures. Peru is the country with the most thefts of ancient objects in the region, more so than Mexico or Bolivia, which also have pre-Colombian heritage. Usually the objects end up in Europe and the United States. Many are sold over the internet as well.

Peru is rich in fossils and archeological antiquities from pre-Colombian cultures, from the Inca Empire, and from Spanish colonial times. Huacas (pyramids and sacred land) and other archeological sites are often raided by huaqueros (grave robbers). Blanca Alva from the National Culture Institute said “It’s difficult to guard more than 10,000 archeological sites.” She also mentioned that colonial churches in remote areas of the Andes had been stripped clean. “Everything has been stolen, including the gold and silver chalices,” she explained.

Eladio Zamudio, an Interpol official, said the agency was investigating several cases of stolen art objects from Peru. Several years ago an altar weighing half a ton disappeared from a church in Puno. It was smuggled through the Bolivian border, and ended up in an art gallery in Texas. Fortunately, Peruvian authorities were able to intervene and return the altar. Last year a golden 7th century Mochica headdress valued at one million dollars was seized from a lawyer’s office in central London. Also last year, 114 envelopes that contained the separated contents of a 16th century manuscript that had been stolen from Peru’s national archives were seized by custom agents. In March police caught men trying to sell an old Peruvian flag to an antiquarian in Lima. It turned out to be the same flag Peruvian leader Jose de San Martin used when proclaiming independence from Spain on July 28, 1821.

Source: Yahoo News

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PAST NEWSLETTERS:

• Newsletter December 2007
• Newsletter November 2007
• Newsletter October 2007
• Newsletter September 2007
• Newsletter August 2007
• Newsletter July 2007
• Newsletter June 2007
• Newsletter May 2007
• Newsletter April 2007
• Newsletter March 2007
• Newsletter February 2007
• Newslette January 2007