Customs Service  
19 CFR Part 12  
[T.D. 97-50]  
RIN 1515-AC17  

Archaeological and Ethnological Material From Peru  

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.  
ACTION: Final rule.  

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 1997.  

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Legal Aspects: Donnette Rimmer, Intellectual Property Rights Branch (202) 482-6960. Operational Aspects: Louis Alfano, Commercial Enforcement, Office of Field Operations (202) 927-0005.  

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

Background  

The value of cultural property, whether archaeological or ethnological in nature, is immeasurable. Such items often constitute the very essence of a society and convey important information concerning a people's origin, history, and traditional setting. The importance and popularity of such items regrettably makes them targets of theft, encourages clandestine looting of archaeological sites, and results in their illegal export and import.  

The U.S. shares in the international concern for the need to protect endangered cultural property. The appearance in the U.S. of stolen or illegally exported artifacts from other countries where there has been pillage has, on occasion, strained our foreign and cultural relations. This situation, combined with the concerns of museum, archaeological, and scholarly communities, was recognized by the President and Congress. It became apparent that it was in the national interest for the U.S. to join with other countries to control illegal trafficking of such articles in international commerce.  

The U.S. joined international efforts and actively participated in deliberations resulting in the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (823 U.N.T.S. 231 (1972)). U.S. acceptance of the 1970 UNESCO Convention was codified into U.S. law as the "Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act" (Pub.L. 97- 446, 19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) ("the Act"). This was done to promote U.S. leadership in achieving greater international cooperation towards preserving cultural treasures that are of importance not only to the nations whence they originate, but also to greater international understanding of mankind's common heritage. The U.S. is, to date, the only major art importing country to implement the 1970 Convention.  

During the past several years, import restrictions have been imposed on a emergency basis on archaeological and ethnological artifacts of a number of signatory nations as a result of requests for protection received from those nations.  

Peru has been one of the countries whose archaeological material has been afforded emergency protections. In T.D. 90-37, Sec. 12.104g(b), Customs Regulations, was amended to reflect that archaeological material from the Sipan Archaeological Region forming part of the remains of the Moche culture received import protection under the emergency protection provisions of the Act. This protection was extended in T.D. 94-54. Import restrictions are now being imposed on certain pre-Columbian archaeological materials of Peru dating to the Colonial period and certain Colonial ethnological material from Peru as the result of a bilateral agreement entered into between the United States and Peru. This agreement was entered into on June 9, 1997, pursuant to the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 2602. Protection of the archaeological material from the Sipan region previously reflected in Sec. 12.104g(b) will be continued through the bilateral agreement without interruption. Accordingly, Sec. 12.104g(a) of the Customs Regulations is being amended to indicate that restrictions have been imposed pursuant to the agreement between the United States and Peru and the emergency import restrictions on certain archaeological material from Peru is being removed from Sec. 12.104g(b) as those restrictions are now encompassed in Sec. 12.104g(a).  

This document contains the Designated List of Archaeological and Ethnological Material representing the cultures of the native peoples of Peru which are covered by the agreement. Importation of articles on this list is restricted unless the articles are accompanied by an appropriate export certificate issued by the Government of Peru.  

In reaching the decision to recommend extension of protection, the Deputy Director, United States Information Agency, determined that, pursuant to the requirements of the Act, with respect to categories of pre-Columbian archaeological material proposed by the Government of Peru for U.S. import restrictions, ranging in date from approximately 12,000 B.C. to A.D. 1532, and including, but not limited to, objects comprised of textiles, metals, ceramics, lithics, perishable remains, and human remains that represent cultures that include, but are not limited to, the Chavin, Paracas, Vincus, Moche (including objects derived from the archaeological zone of Sipan), Viru, Lima, Nazca, Recuay, Tiahuanaco, Huari, Chimu, Chancay, Cuzco, and Inca; that the cultural patrimony of Peru is in jeopardy from the pillage of these irreplaceable materials representing pre-Columbian heritage; and that with respect to certain categories of ethnological material of the Colonial period, ranging in date from A.D. 1532 to 1821, proposed by the Government of Peru for U.S. import restrictions but limited to (1) objects directly related to the pre-Columbian past, whose pre-Columbian design and function are maintained with some Colonial characteristics and may include textiles, metal objects, and ceremonial wood, ceramic and stone vessels; and (2) objects used for religious evangelism among indigenous peoples and including Colonial paintings and sculpture with distinct indigenous iconography; that the cultural patrimony of Peru is in jeopardy of pillage of these irreplaceable materials as documented by the request.  

List of Designated Archaeological and Ethnological Material From Peru  

Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and the Republic of Peru, the following contains descriptions of the cultural materials for which the United States imposes import restrictions under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (Pub. L. 97-446), the legislation enabling implementation of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.  

The Designated List includes archaeological materials known to originate in Peru, ranging in date from approximately 12,000 B.C. to A.D. 1532, and including, but not limited to, objects comprised of textiles, metals, ceramics, lithics, perishable remains, and human remains that represent cultures that include, but are not limited to, the Chavin, Paracas, Vicus, Moche, Viru, Lima, Nazca, Recuay, Tiahuanaco, Huari, Chimu, Chancay, Cuzco, and Inca cultures. The Designated List also includes certain categories of ethnological materials from Peru dating to the Colonial period (A.D. 1532-1821), limited to: (1) objects directly related to the pre-Columbian past, whose pre-Columbian design and function are maintained with some Colonial characteristics and may include textiles, metal objects, and ceremonial wood, ceramic and stone vessels; and (2) objects used for religious evangelism among indigenous peoples and including Colonial paintings and sculpture with distinct indigenous iconography. The Designated List below also subsumes those categories of Moche objects from the Sipan Archaeological Region of Peru for which emergency import restrictions have been in place since 1990. With publication of the Designated List below, protection of the Sipan material continues without interruption.  

The list is divided into seven categories of objects:  
  

I.   II.   III.   IV.   V.   VI.   VII.

Pre-Columbian Textiles   Pre-Columbian Metals   Pre-Columbian Ceramics   Pre-Columbian Lithics   Pre-Columbian Perishable Remains   Pre-Columbian Human Remains   Ethnological Objects   A. Objects Directly Related to the Pre-Columbian Past   B. Objects Used for Religious Evangelism Among Indigenous Peoples

  
  

What follows immediately is a chart of chronological periods and cultural classifications currently widely used for identifying archaeological remains in Peru. All dates are approximate.

  
  

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