Mexico recovers 30+ archaeological artifacts returned from Italy and the United States

Italy handed over 27 archaeological and paleontological pieces to Mexico, including Mayan, Nayarit and Teotihuacan figures and Cretaceous fossils. The ceremony featured Mexican ambassador Genaro Lozano and Carabinieri commander Antonio Petti, and the items will be placed under the care of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

In New York, the Mexican consulate received three additional artifacts from the Manhattan prosecutor’s office: a Nayarit anthropomorphic clay figure formerly displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Xochipala‑style bowl and a pre‑Hispanic Mexica obsidian core. The Met’s director praised responsible collecting, and the items are also being returned to INAH. Both restitutions are part of a broader effort that has recovered more than 2,400 Mexican cultural objects in the past five years.