San Diegans Return Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Mexico After Inheriting Them From Family

This article was originally reported by Telemundo 20. To read the original report, click here.

Two San Diego families returned 64 archeological artifacts to Mexico after they were passed down to them by their relatives – some of them dating back to 300 B.C.

According to the donors, the artifacts had been in their families for years and never thought they held archaeological value in Mexico’s history.

“This is the first or second time that someone from San Diego brings such pieces to the consulate,” said San Diego resident Pete Mechalas, who said he’s surprised by how few citizens return such items.

Piece by piece, bits of Mesoamerican history and postclassic periods are evident in the artifacts that were returned.

“It’s a happy coincidence that these two San Diegans shared their interest in returning these objects,” said Carlos Gonzalez, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego.  

Norm Werthman, a Vista resident, and Pete, a Point Loma resident, said their families passed down the objects to them because they felt they had to be donated to a museum in the region. In both cases, the locals were directed to the Mexican consulate in San Diego.

According to Mireya Lopez, the Director of the Heritage of the Americas Museum, she was stunned by what she found when she saw the artifacts.

“These are pre-Hispanic artifacts with high historical value, and have always belonged to the Mexican nation,” Gonzalez said.

The objects were reviewed by experts at the National Institute of Anthropology and History and will be repatriated from San Diego to Mexico by air.

It’s rare for San Diego museums to receive collections like these by residents. In Werthman’s case, he said the artifacts have been in his family for 50 years.

“I wish I knew more about them” Werthman said. “It was a collection acquired by my father when I was a little boy.”

In the case of Pete and his sister Christine, they said their mother bought the pieces for about $2,000 as a favor to a woman who needed money for surgery.

“The story he told my mom is that his cousins were digging up a house,” Christine Mechalas of Carlsbad said. “I don’t know if they were building it, but they found these pieces one by one.”

“I’m sure there are many collections like these in San Diego and throughout the United States, so hopefully whoever sees this report is inclined to do the same if they hold any,” Gonzalez said.