Chile Repatriates Artifacts to Peru

SANTIAGO, CHILE—According to a statement released by UNESCO, officials from the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage of Chile repatriated 19 artifacts to the ambassador of the Republic of Peru at a ceremony held at Chile’s National Historical Museum. The objects included ceramics made by the Chancay and Pativilca cultures between A.D. 600 and 1000, a Chancay textile fragment with anthropomorphic and bird-like figures dated to between A.D. 1000 and 1476, and nine other camelid fiber and cotton textiles featuring geometric patterns made by the Chancay and Wari cultures. All of the artifacts had been excavated illegally and were recovered from private collections by Chilean authorities and members of the Directorate of Recoveries of Peru’s Ministry of Culture. In 2002, the two countries signed a bilateral agreement to prevent the illicit trade of cultural heritage and restore stolen cultural property. For more on the Chancay culture, go to "Under the Skin."