If each archaeological piece that was stolen from Mexico could speak, what story would it tell? Perhaps a painting by San Agustín de Hipona, 1564, would tell how he was looted from a church during the US invasion in 1848 and remained hundreds of years in Tennessee. Or an arrow projectile tip to hunt birds, perfectly preserved in a picture with other cents of its kind, would testify how they came to a person’s house in Texas as part of their personal collection. The history of each piece could form a series of episodes in which archaeological researchers, in the style of the forensic of the popular CSI series, solve the case. Or at least they imagine Alejandro Bautista and Elizabeth andion, whose efforts, through the units that represent at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the United States Embassy in Mexico, respectively, have been given the task of repatriating and recovering the archaeological heritage of the country. Although without the paraphernalia of a whip, its revolver or nazis Famous archaeologist and adventurer of Indiana Jones, the efforts and work of these institutions that represent this tandem, in almost nine years, have made more than 11,000 cultural goods, piece by piece, be returned to Mexico. United States, through their embassy in Mexico, has established itself as the main partner of the country in these efforts to stop the plunder. As a result of this collaboration in almost a decade, the repatriation of the statue of Santa Rosa de Lima has been achieved last year, stolen from the Santa Monica chapel, in Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, in 2007; or a historical manuscript signed by Hernán Cortés in 1527, illegally stolen from the General Archive of the Nation in 2021 and repatriated in 2023; or the return to the archaological zone of Chalcatzingo (Morelos), two years ago, after spending at least 50 years on the American border of the Earth’s monster, an olmec piece of more than 2,500 years old. Of archaeological monuments of the Furniture of INAH, it represents a lot: so be it a monumental piece – of more than one ton and around 1.80 meters high – like the monster of the earth; or a fragment of 20 centimeters of a representation in mud of Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of death and the underworld. “Every piece that returns is a fragment like a puzzle. A fragment of our history. Each recovery excites us a lot,” he says from his office and repository in the delegation of Coyoacán. Bautist explains that most deliveries are voluntary. These come from natural persons, museums, galleries and universities. Although some also complements Elizabeth andion, a specialist in cultural affairs of the US Embass from the center of Veracruz dating from the period between 200 and 400 years before Christ, from lots recovered in Texas, Memphis, Tennessee and Dallas. Each of these seized pieces or that are voluntarily returned, he explains, reach the consular offices of Mexico in the different states of the neighboring country. Through high -definition images, these are provided to INAH for their distance study and review or, even, sometimes to make an opinion in the same place. “In this office we make an opinion in matters of archeology through the graphic material available. Thus we establish whether it is, effectively, a Mexican cultural good. This judgment has to be categorical They correspond to the Teotihuacano, Olmeca, Zapoteca style, etc., so that it is valid and can proceed with its repatriation, ”Bautista elaborates. Frontal part of the Hernán Cortés manuscript that was stolen from the General Archive of the Nation. Fbiandion explains that it is also a bureaucratic work and cultural management. All US embassies compete for budgets for preservation and restoration in their countries where they are located. There are almost two million dollars that the US has allocated in Mexico, since 2002 – with the funds of the Ambassadors Program for Cultural Preservation and the Program for the Implementation of the Cultural Property Agreement – to support the capacity of the local communities to protect, preserve and recover their cultural heritage. Some examples of this work are the conservation of the palace and other elements of the classical period in the Mayan site of Palenque, in Chiapas, in Chiapas $ 500,000 in 2017; Or, more recently, last December, with the restoration of the historic Palacio de Escázaga, in Durango, with an economic aid of 230,000 dollars. Through these financial aid, another factor that has been important is that of awareness and education, through manuals and campaigns to promote the prevention of illicit traffic. Preserving bilateral collaboration “is not only Andion explains. The bilateral collaboration, at least in this area, will continue, according to the specialist in cultural affairs of the embassy, despite some cuts that have been announced from the Trump administration. “All my colleagues in public diplomacy, in the Embassy, and I believe that in all agencies, we have had to adjust to different priorities of the new administrations, just like as it happens in Mexico, but we do continue with the funds of the ambassadors program for cultural preservation,” the diplomatic official clarifies. While Bautista and Miguel Ángel García Retrieved in Texas, they reflect on the progress that the awareness of people has had regarding the care and preservation of cultural goods in Mexico. The Deputy Director of Registration of Archaeological Monuments of INAH sees in the new generations positive advances and awareness in the face of the subject, unlike the people of the past who had an “antiquarian vision” at the expense of promoting looting. “We are certain that this private person knows what can and what should not do with those important collections for the country. So, there has been a positive effect,” says the expert. Carved points that is part of the active program of recovery of archaeological pieces returned from El Paso, Texas.Mónica González Islasla Passion for the task of recovering and repatriating is breathing in that office of the INAH. Even when it is a constant bustle because of the tasks of registering, studying and receiving every good that comes. Although sometimes they do not give them the time to do everything, they admit – smart – that they lack more archaeologists who can do everything, be it a Alejandro Jones or Mike Jones, Bomaan Bautista and García, because there is no fragment of culture and history of Mexico that is less in its importance: “Every piece that arrives has a tremendous story”. (Tagstotranslate) Mexico
