Among the scientists was Konrad Theodor Preuss. Sponsored by the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, Preuss arrived in Colombia in 1913 and began to collect archaeological artifacts, spending much time excavating in and around San Agustín.
After World War I, Preuss shipped hundreds of Indigenous objects were back to the Berlin museum, including 35 mysterious stones from San Agustín and nearby Nariño.
They were largely forgotten for decades.
That changed when an American-born expat tracked down those missing artifacts and began working alongside his new neighbours to demand their return. Negotiations took place between Colombian officials and administrators at the Humboldt Forum, which absorbed the Ethnological Museum of Berlin in 2020.
In June 2023, the Humboldt handed over two Indigenous Kogi masks, which Preuss had taken. Hopes are now running high that the San Agustín stones might be next to return.
