Mexico claims historic artifact from US

The United States is returning a more than 2,500-year-old Olmec culture historical artifact to Mexico. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced Friday (local time) that the historic find, which weighed about two tons and was made between 800 and 500 B.C.

It was “the most wanted Olmec piece in Mexico” and should never have been stolen, Ebrard tweeted. According to media reports, the piece was part of a collection of more than 2,000 artifacts from Mexico that Colgate University in New York, US, had voluntarily returned.

The head of the New York Attorney’s Office’s Department of Antiquities, Matthew Bogdanos, informed Mexican authorities of the find, Ebrard said. Now it is being investigated how the artifact can be transported to Mexico.

The artifact comes from the Chalcatzingo ruins in the center of the country. Chalcatzingo is located about 120 kilometers south of Mexico City in the state of Morelos. The pre-Columbian city was discovered after a landslide in the 1930s.

On Tuesday, the governments of Germany and Italy returned more than 80 archaeological finds to Mexico. For several years now, the cultural authorities of Mexico have been increasingly committed to protecting the cultural heritage of the Latin American country abroad. (saw/sda/dpa)