La colaboración en el diseño de mecanismos exitosos para la repatriación de un cilindro efigie maya de cerámica a Chiapas, México

Abstract

In this essay, we discuss the processes of undertaking the repatriation of a Postclassic Maya ceramic effigy cylinder by combining investigators and government personnel from the United States and Mexico. This large cylinder was originally taken from Lake Pethá, Chiapas, Mexico, between 1968 and 1969, which predated the Ley Federal sobre Monumentos y Zonas Arqueológicas, Artísticos e Históricos (Federal Law Regarding Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic, and Historic Zones) that began in force in Mexico in 1972. Afterwards, the cylinder was taken to Michigan in the United States where it remained for more than 50 years until April of 2021 when its repatriation accord was signed. Subsequently, in August of 2021 the cylinder arrived to Mexico City and was incorporated into the major exhibit “La Grandeza de México” (The Grandeur of Mexico), which commemorated the 500 years of the fall of México-Tenochtitlán and the 200-year anniversary of Mexican independence. Here we report the extensive binational connections and academic investigations between universities and government agencies that facilitated this repatriation.