The University of Pennsylvania Museum was the first institution to take a public stand on what was, and continues to be a highly controversial subject. On 01 April 1970, the Museum issued what came to be known as the Pennsylvania Declaration, stating that no object would be purchased unless accompanied by a pedigree, including "information about the different owners, place of origin, legality of export, etc." Later that year, the United Nations issed the UNESCO Convention (see below) on the Means of Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Since then, supporting resolutions have been passed by the Archaeological Insitute of America, the Society for American Archaeology, and the American Anthropological Association.

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The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

On 17 November 1990, “The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act” (PL 101-601) was signed into law. This act mandates the return of specific kinds of objects to Native Americans, makes illegal their trafficking across state lines, and is specific about the process and procedures for archaeological excavations. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) is primarily affected by the first of these three requirements, involving museum collections. Five categories of objects are identified in the law: human remains, associated funerary objects, unassociated funerary objects, objects of cultural patrimony, and sacred objects. (For legal definitions, refer to the links on the right-hand column of this page.)

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The Penn Cultural Heritage Center, dedicated to expanding both scholarly and public awareness, discussion, and debate about the complex issues surrounding the world’s rich—and endangered—cultural heritage, has been established at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia.

Dr. Richard M. Leventhal, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Curator, American Section at Penn Museum, and former Williams Director of Penn Museum, is founder and director of the new Penn Cultural Heritage Center. PCHC draws upon the expertise of the Museum’s curators, researchers, graduate students, other Penn department faculty, and outside scholars, for its programs.

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