Yale Sued by Peru Over Inca Artifacts

Upping the ante in negotiations over the potential return to the Republic of Peru of Inca artifacts obtained by an explorer affiliated with Yale University almost 100 years ago, the country has now sued the renowned educational institution in federal court.

Although general counsel Dorothy Robinson says Yale is eager to reach a settlement with Peru, so far the university has declined to return to the country's government all of the artifacts brought from Machu Picchu by professor Hiram Bingham III in 1912, according to the Yale Daily News.

The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The plaintiff is represented by William Cook of DLA Piper.

Additional information about the dispute is provided in a 2006 New York Times article about a controversial exhibit at the university's Peabody Museum of Natural History.