On Wednesday, the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that 22 archaeological pieces will be repatriated from the United States.
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In October 2023, the family of the late collector Leonard Landau voluntarily handed over 29 archaeological pieces to the Mexican Cultural Center (CCM) in Philadelphia.
Given the relevance of the pieces, the Mexican Consulate and the Cultural Center agreed to verify their authenticity with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
After a scientific analysis, INAH concluded that 22 out of 29 pieces can be considered part of the Mexican archaeological heritage.
These include anthropomorphic figures and vessels that correspond to artifacts made by various Mesoamerican cultures that inhabited Mexico between 400 BCE and 1521 CE.
Five of the recovered pieces date back to the Mesoamerican pre-classical period (400 BCE - 200 CE), 16 pieces belong to the classical period (100-700 CE), and one piece corresponds to the post-classical period (1200-1521 CE).
CCM President Araceli Guenther emphasized the importance of returning archaeological heritage and the cooperation of the Landau family with Mexican institutions.
"Leonard Landau was a lover of Mexican art and enjoyed collecting archaeological pieces. After his death, his wife and children considered it right to return them to Mexico," she said.
The Mexican government stated that it continues to make permanent efforts regarding the importance of preserving Mexican cultural heritage, thus recovering various archaeological goods, historical manuscripts, among others.