Peruvians took to the streets of Cuzco and Lima on Friday, demonstrating against Yale for the return of artifacts found at Machu Picchu but held for nearly one hundred years at Yale. According to a report by the AFP, about 4,000 Peruvians took part in the march in Cuzco, the former Incan capital near the site of Machu Picchu. The gathering in Lima, led by Peruvian President Alan Garcia, took place later in the day and also had the participation of thousands of Peruvians.

But the demonstrations traveled even closer to Yale, as nine Peruvian runners in today’s New York City Marathon wore shirts expressing support of the efforts to have the artifacts returned.

The marches in Peru have been planned since October 24, when they were announced by Garcia as a part of a national mobilization effort to get Yale to return the artifacts. Peruvian leaders have expressed a desire to have the artifacts returned before the centenary of Machu Picchu’s modern discovery, which will be celebrated in July 2011.