Machu Picchu

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From 1912 to 1915, an explorer representing Yale University in Connecticut named Hiram Bingham III was busy researching and excavating ancient artifacts from the forgotten Inca civilization of Machu Picchu. His work resulted in the discovery of thousands of valuable artifacts which were shown to the world through means such as the National Geographic organization. It was agreed upon by the Peruvian government that the artifacts would be loaned out to Yale in order for more extensive research to be done, but that they would be sent back over to Peru whenever requested by government officials. As time went by, Yale took more and more liberty to act as they pleased with the “borrowed” artifacts. After World War I, they returned a very small portion …show more content…

However, both the Peruvian government and Yale did agree that Hiram Bigham was legally permitted to excavate Machu Picchu and send the artifacts to Yale for further study. Even in the early 1900s, Yale was considered one of the top institutions for researching, studying and cataloging artifacts. Because of this, Peru could trust that Yale would preserve and protect these pieces during a time when looting was a rampant problem. It was also known for sharing these discoveries with other areas of academia, so their research would be accessible to Peruvian scholars as well. In addition to this, Yale wanted to ensure the safety and preservation of the artifacts for educational purposes, and did not trust the Peruvian …show more content…

The objectives and goals of their campaign are to regain Yale’s reputation as being a professional and respectful academic institution and to re-establish trust with Peru and the academic community. They would improve Yale University’s reputation through press and news releases. They will also reinforce Yale’s commitment to being credible, professional, and respectable by forming an academic partnership with Peru’s UNSAAC. And finally they will protect themselves from a negative reputation by showing proactive actions to return the artifacts from Machu

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