Yale University and the government of Peru have been arguing for almost a decade over who owns thousands of artifacts including mummies, jewelry and art dug up by Yale scholar Hiram Bingham at the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in the early 20th century.

The cultural treasures belong to Peru, and that's where they should rest.

In 2007, Yale agreed to give Peru legal title to the pieces, which were to travel in a joint exhibit and then be taken to a museum and research center in the ancient Incan capital of Cuzco. Yale would have paid for the exhibit and partially paid for the museum.

But Peru backed out of the deal because of a dispute over how many artifacts were to be returned and filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2008 demanding return of the collection.

Recently, Yale claimed that Peru's lawsuit should be dismissed because a statute of limitations has expired. Peru maintains that Yale never owned the artifacts and that no statute of limitations should apply. It's a pity the dispute drags on.

Peru holds the stronger ethical hand. Some of the artifacts were taken by the Bingham expedition in contravention of Peruvian law. At any rate, the relics are part of Peru's cultural legacy. Machu Picchu was one of the few places not plundered by Spanish conquistadors. It's a cruel irony that the relics survived the Spanish only to be removed 500 years later by a Yale historian.

Yale should agree to Peru's wishes. There's a trend among American museums to return precious antiquities taken from their countries of origin. The United States is signatory to a UNESCO resolution prohibiting the illegal removal of cultural treasures. Yale should show its magnanimity by returning the Machu Picchu artifacts to Peru.