U.S. returns 4,000 archaeological relics to Mexico

On Thursday more than 4,000 archaeological artifacts that were seized in the United States were returned to authorities in Mexico.

According to CBC, experts say that this is one of the largest repatriation ever made between the US and Mexico. Most of the items are from before the European explorers landed in North America. Some of the items are also from hunter-gatherers in pre-Columbian northern Mexico, which include figurines and copper hatchets as well as statues and even stones that were used to grind corn, according to the president of the National Archaeological Council of Mexico. According to Boston, the relics were seized in Denver, Phoenix, El Paso, Chicago, San Antonio and San Diego. According to KPBS, the size and origin of the items were not surprising. The founding director of the nonprofit Association for Research Into Crimes Against Art, Noah Charney, said that more than 2 million art objects were stolen between 1997 and 2010. Charney also said that the yearly average of items that are stolen in Mexico surpasses the yearly average of items that are stolen in Italy, which reports the most stolen art each year in Europe.