Frederic H. Morgan III, a class of 1976 history alum, recalled the story his parents told him about their trip to Teotihuacán, Mexico, in 1951, and the figurines and other items they found while there.

“Mama told me these things were all over the ground,” he said. “She just picked them up.”

His father had collected items near Calixtlahuaca, Mexico, as a teenager in 1939. Morgan later donated the six artifacts gathered by his parents to the University of Richmond’s Ancient World Gallery in the classical studies department, enabling students to study them.

Last week, the University held a repatriation ceremony on campus to return the items to their homeland. Felipe García Landa, the Deputy Consul of Mexico in Washington, D.C., personally accepted the items after they were authenticated by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History) in Mexico City.

Junior Lucille Hancock, a journalism major and archaeology minor, was excited to attend the ceremony. She had studied the artifacts and written a paper about them in Elizabeth Baughan’s Cultural Property, Archaeology, Ethics, and Law class.

“I think the biggest thing for me was having the opportunity to physically work with the items, not look at a collection on a computer,” said Hancock. After taking the class and learning about Mexico’s repatriation laws, she, Baughan, and other classmates agreed that the items should be returned to their place of origin.

Baughan said that in the class, consideration is given to who owns the past from various legal, ethical, and archaeological perspectives through specific case studies like this.

“Repatriation is a wonderful opportunity to foster new relationships and raise awareness about important cultural traditions and resources,” said Provost Joan Saab. “I’m so impressed by the research and subsequent outreach by our faculty and students to make this ceremony happen.”

The donated artifacts include:

• a disc-shaped gaming piece created by pre-Hispanic cultures that settled in the Central Highlands region between 1200 and 1521 A.D
• two anthropomorphic figures created by the Teotihuacán culture between 200 and 650 A.D.
• a fragment of an axe made of stone, originating from the Central Highlands and created between 200 and 1521 A.D.
• the head of a supernatural figurine, representing a skeletal figure known in archaeological literature as the god Xipe Totec, and an anthropomorphic portrait-style figurine. Both are artifacts of the Teotihuacán style, crafted in the Mexican Highlands during the Mesoamerican Classic period (100-650 A.D.)

“I am glad the objects are going back to Mexico, instead of into the hands of private collectors,” said Morgan. He hopes the artifacts will be publicly displayed in their new home or made accessible for historical research.

“Since 2018, more than 14,000 archaeological pieces have been repatriated, a priority for the Government of Mexico,” said García Landa. “As such, it’s my great honor to receive these pieces, which legally and emotionally belong to all Mexicans. We will cherish them with the same reverence and care that you have done all these years, Mr. Morgan.”

The ceremony concluded with the signing of documents officially transferring the cultural objects to the consul, who will return them to Mexico.