ABSTRACT
This chapter follows the policy of protecting cultural property, analysing the German implementation of the UNESCO Convention 1970 that resulted in the law on returning cultural property. It intends to show how a private collector, while trading pre-Columbian artefacts over the years, came into conflict with international regulations and the legislations of different nations, namely Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Spain and the US. The characteristics of the KultGRckG will be highlighted by analysing a case involving contested Pre-Columbian heritage claimed back from Leonardo Patterson, the art dealer, by various Latin-American countries. The notion of cultural heritage being put forward by institutions and actors such as UNESCO, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), archaeologists, several states, and Prott herself, highlights that cultural objects may belong to a state and to mankind as a whole. In addition, an extension of the one-year period for registering archaeological objects to three years is recommended.
