-
The meteorite is central to the world view of the native Moqoit people
An unlikely alliance between the native Moqoit people and leading Argentine scientists has thwarted plans to ship the world's second largest meteorite to Germany as an art exhibit.
The 37 ton space rock crashed to Earth as part of a meteor shower between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago.
It formed a giant 48,000 km2 crater field in north-eastern Argentina known as Campo del Cielo, or Field of the Sky.
Called El Chaco after the province it fell into, the meteorite is central to the world view of the native Moqoit people.
Many of their legends, which have been passed down from generation to generation, are based on the meteor shower.
Today there are only about 15,000 Moqoit natives left in north-eastern Argentina after their population was decimated with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.
The controversy over El Chaco erupted when the local government approved a request by a pair of Buenos Aires-based artists to ship the meteorite to Germany to feature in the Documenta modern art exhibition.
The artists, Guillermo Faivovich and Nicolas Goldberg, organized a similar exhibit in Frankfurt in 2010, when they put the complete "El Taco" meteorite on display.
The smaller, two ton space rock was discovered in 1962 in Campo del Cielo by an Argentine-US expedition.
It was then divided in two and the halves were shipped to the respective countries, only to be reunited again for the first time at the Frankfurt exhibition.
The artists hoped El Chaco, second in size only to the 60 ton Hoba meteorite in Namibia, would be the centrepiece of the Documenta show, which runs from 9 June until 16 September in Kassel, Germany.
However Moqoit natives, supported by a coalition of scientists, astronomers, anthropologists, and defenders of Argentina's heritage objected.
Earlier this month more than 40 prominent Argentine astronomers wrote an open letter saying they "energetically opposed" the plans, and that taking the meteorite to Germany "violates the rights of the Chaqueno natives."
Theresa Durnbeck, who heads Chaco province's economic development office, claimed that putting the meteorite on show in Germany would encourage tourism in one of Argentina's poorest regions.
"More than a million people from different parts of the world visit the Documenta show," she said. "For the province it would be an opportunity hard to repeat, and impossible to reach with its own resources."
However in their letter the astronomers suggested that instead of shipping the rock "as a sort of 'cosmic curiosity' it would be much better" to encourage people to visit the meteorite at its home in Chaco province.
"It's madness," said Jorge Castillo, who heads both an environmentalist organization and a group protecting the heritage of Chaco province.
"It is part of the province's cultural and natural heritage and it must remain in its place" he told AFP.
The meteorite was due to begin its 1,000km odyssey from Chaco to the port of Buenos Aires in mid-February. From there it was to be shipped to Germany before being hauled to Kassel overland.
Upon learning of the controversy, Documenta organizers in Germany decided to suspend their request to borrow the meteorite.
"No loan of the El Chaco meteorite will be further requested without a full endorsement by the peoples of the land of Chaco, by the local community as a whole, and in careful consideration of the beliefs and principles of the traditional custodians today," the organizers said in a statement.
But efforts are ongoing and the statement noted that the two artists were "currently meeting with all concerned parties" to discuss the matter.
