Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá
Wikipedia
"US museum head says Mexico should get Mayan jade"
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSReiZ2_8Tvhocog3XSANg3rIkmQD94HMUC81>
William Fash, the Director of Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, "said Tuesday he wants to return about 50 ancient carved Mayan jade pieces to Mexico, almost a century after a U.S. consul dredged the artifacts from the sacred lake at the ruins of Chichén Itzá."
But Chichén Itzá, one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" -- and one of the best-known archaeological sites, and one considered one of the most sacred in the world -- is owned and operated by the Barbachano family.
"Mexican standoff: the Battle of Chichén Itzá"
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mexican-standoff-the-battle-of-chichen-itza-399310.html>
"Since being named as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World, the Mayan temple has been the focus of an ownership dispute between a local family and those who want it to be returned to the people."
Have a look at these two articles:
"US museum head says Mexico should get Mayan jade"
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSReiZ2_8Tvhocog3XSANg3rIkmQD94HMUC81>
"Mexican standoff: the Battle of Chichén Itzá"
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mexican-standoff-the-battle-of-chichen-itza-399310.html>
Questions:
1. Should the Mayan jades be returned to Chichén Itzá?
Why or why not?
2. Should they be returned to the bottom of the sacred cenote, the resting place were they were originally placed by the prehistoric peoples?
Why or why not?
3. From the point of view of the Mayan natives, do you think it makes any difference if they are in the Peabody Museum at Harvard rather than the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, the latter being in an area of tribes alien to the prehistoric Maya people?
Why or why not?
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© 1998 - 2010 Timothy G. Roufs
Archaeologist working in Pennsylvania
