By Julio César
A more-than-2,000-year-old archaeological vessel decorated with cacao beans has been voluntarily returned to Mexico by the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research in Boston.
A pre-Hispanic vessel made in the territory of present-day Colima, Mexico, has been returned to the country’s cultural heritage following a voluntary handover in Boston, Massachusetts. The artifact, which belongs to the Comala tradition and dates to between the Terminal Preclassic and Classic periods of Mesoamerica, was delivered to the Consulate General of Mexico in Boston during a ceremony attended by academic, cultural and institutional representatives from Mexico and the United States.
The restitution resulted from the work of Mexico’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, the latter through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), together with cooperation between the Mexican consulate in Boston and the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research. The institute is led by Mexican researcher and Boston University professor José López Ganem.
A vessel depicting cacao
The returned object is a modeled clay pot with a polished surface, reddish slip, pigmentation in a second shade of red and modeled decorative elements. Its body has a plant-like form and depicts four cacao beans, while its neck features straight, outward-flaring walls and a rounded rim.
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According to an assessment prepared by INAH specialists, the vessel belongs to the Comala tradition and was manufactured between 300 BCE and 600 CE by cultures established in what is now the Mexican state of Colima. The institute classifies it as a movable archaeological monument belonging to Mexico’s national cultural heritage.
The depiction of cacao beans gives the vessel particular archaeological and cultural interest. It reflects the place the fruit held in the cultural imagination of societies that inhabited western Mexico more than 2,000 years ago.
In Mesoamerica, cacao had uses that extended beyond food and drink. Its beans circulated as exchange goods and were associated with ceremonies, social alliances and other cultural practices.
López Ganem’s 83rd returned vessel
During the ceremony, the Mexican consulate recognized José López Ganem, a Mexican researcher based in New England, for his participation in the restitution.
“This is the 83rd vessel we have repatriated,” López Ganem said. According to his statement, most of the pieces have been returned to Mexico, while the initiative has also involved cooperation with other Central American countries.
Mexican Consul General in Boston Carlos Iriarte Mercado said the restitution illustrates how cultural cooperation can bring institutions, communities and countries together. He connected the return of archaeological objects with international cooperation and cultural diplomacy as mechanisms for protecting Mexico’s cultural heritage.
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The handover ceremony brought together representatives of academic and cultural institutions, members of the Mexican community and visiting students from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
A broader effort to recover Mexican heritage
The restitution follows other cultural heritage recoveries coordinated through Mexico’s consular network in Boston. In August 2026, the consulate received 1,132 archaeological artifacts voluntarily returned by a private individual, including ceramic sherds, spindle whorls, figurine fragments and shark teeth.
Such cases illustrate several mechanisms through which Mexican archaeological heritage located abroad can be returned to its country of origin, including voluntary handovers and agreements with academic institutions, as well as recoveries associated with investigations or actions by foreign authorities.
In the case of the Colima vessel, the restitution concerns more than the physical return of an archaeological object. The INAH assessment establishes its cultural affiliation, chronology and physical characteristics, while the cacao imagery provides material evidence of the cultural significance of the crop among ancient Mesoamerican societies.
The vessel will now return to Mexico’s cultural heritage holdings, adding another archaeological object recovered through cooperation between Mexican institutions and organizations abroad.
Editor-in-Chief: Julio César. Journalist with more than 15 years of experience researching and developing specialized content for print and digital media in Mexico and Latin America.
IG: @imjucesar // LinkedIn: @imjucesar
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