Our cultural heritage is shared and preserved through artifacts and archeological sites. Studying these allows us to deepen our understanding of the past. Archaeological looting has been and continues to be a serious global issue. Once theses sacred artifacts and sites are destroyed, or sold illegally into the market, they are gone and can never be replaced. A part of our story as a human race is lost.
I was surprised to read about looting not just happening overseas but right in our back yard. Through research I learned that war is a major cause of archaeological looting. Especially in the Middle East archeological sites and monuments are being deliberately destroyed. In the United States Native American graves are being looted. After reading many different sources on the prevention of looting at archaeological sites I feel these are the top three things we can do to prevent these crimes.
First, there needs to be a centralized non-profit and website housing all information. If you know of looting happening or see a stolen artifact, what would you do? Having one platform would help minimize confusion. This centralized website would provide ample resources to educate our population. When they teach history in school and cover looting this non-profit’s website needs to be showcased. It needs a rich social media presence. Now with Instagram, it
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Through their research they can create satellite pictures and set up monitoring for large archeological sites around the world. I think including these universities and highlighting the role they are playing will serve as a valuable asset and promotional tool. Part of the students and professors work can be educating the local people about these sites, and to not allow digging on their land before consulting with a professional. By keeping the upcoming generation engaged and educated they can continue the work to preserve our
Archaeology and the Trojan War “. he [Heinrich Schliemann] found layers of ruins. and two bore unmistakable signs of violent destruction. One of these layers, the seventh according to more recent excavators, was no doubt the city of Priam and Hector. The historicity of the Homeric tale has been demonstrated archaeologically.”
Processual Archaeology, was a movement in the archaeological field that began in the 1960‘s and changed the course of archaeology forever. Anthropologists such as Julian Steward were absolutely influential on many archaeologists and anthropologists during the early 1960s with his theories of cultural ecology which established a scientific way of understanding cultures as human adaption to the surrounding environment (Steward, 1955: 36-38). It was approaches such as Stewards that led eventually led to a rejection of culture-historical approaches to the archaeological record and propelled the ideas of cultural evolution and its reaction with the environment. This approach to cultural systems was essentially a rejection of the culture-historical approach of determinism by suggesting that the environment influences culture but is not a deterministic feature and that both culture and the environment were two separate systems that are dependent on each other for change (Steward, 1955: 36).
What is an artifact? According to the dictionary, an artifact is “something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest” ("The Definition of Artifact"). In archaeology, the word “artifact” defines an object recovered by archaeological attempt, which might have a cultural attention. In the same way, the article “The Life of An Artifact” written by Michael Shanks mainly discusses some of the key points of interpretive archaeology and the relations between social sciences and material culture. The author believes that material culture plays an active role in society, and that the society is built upon the presence of artifacts. He emphasizes that “artifacts
While digging in the far reaches of the African outback, now know as the western part of Kenya, archaeologist Bozo excavated a site that revolutionized the thoughts of the scientific world. At this site they found many interesting artifacts and paintings that included proof of an early civilization. At this time scientists are calling this civilization “Pontu” after one of the paintings suggested that a pontoon was used for transportation across Lake Victoria, one of the adjacent lakes.
Veterans Providing a Caring Environment (VETSPACE), a non-profit aimed directly at providing service and care to homeless veterans, has impacted an innumerable amount of individuals in the Alachua County area for over twenty years. The institution not only provides beneficial services, but also supplies transitional housing to those in need. Social media influences the society as a whole and allows relationships to form between corresponding parties. An establishment can use these links to gain followers and generate additional outreach. This report summarizes the mission, needs, and social media awareness to assess the strength of VETSPACE’s current online presence.
The dangers of human error surround us all, but they cannot be avoided; it is inevitable. As I have gone through my high school career I have thought, though I know realize it is a very elementary thought, that science is one of the most stable curriculum and thus not susceptible to human error. I was very wrong.
For years on end, countries have been fighting with big museums from other countries for ancient artifacts that belong to the original countries. The argument of whether or not the museums should be able to keep them still remains. It is the right of the country to have their own artifacts. It is imperative for countries to be able showcase their historical artifacts, therefor museums should return them to their rightful owners.
‘Intensification’ has been a large topic of debate in Australian archaeology. Archaeologists created a model of ‘intensification’ which hypothesises that foraging economies became more specialised, productive and efficient throughout Holocene; essentially a progression of the Pleistocene life (Hiscock, 2008). Others suggested that economic activities have a lengthy time-depth or that more recent economic transformations were not necessarily more efficient nor more sophisticated than those earlier (Hiscock, 2008). The ‘great intensification debate’ is largely concentrated on which social and environmental circumstances might have given rise to economic changes based on the archaeological evidence (Hiscock, 2008).
SHA, and other archaeological societies, institutions, scholars and archaeologists find it hard to conduct or even to get involved in such shows that are produced for the entertaining of fans and also for gaining revenue. The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is working on clearing-house project that will help in building public awareness about archaeology and the way it is practiced, therefore the project is seeking input from professionals and the interested public, in order to share and contribute information and
Other countries that are taking these artifacts that aren’t even theirs are way out of line. In the third
...troversy as all countries have lost, to a great or lesser extent, treasures of national renown and significance over time. Wars, theft, treasure seeking, changing boundaries and migration have all in some way contributed to this diaspora of art. There is clear evidence that the historic placing of objects in locations remote from their origin has on occasion afforded protection and preservation, The Elgin Marbles in The British Museum being a case in point. However, given the overarching principle of self determination it is difficult to argue that serendipitous historic placement is sufficient reason for items of true national heritage to be kept indefinitely. A world-wide system of touring exhibitions and cultural exchange, with context being provided by the originating society may provide the natural progression to the accessible widening of people’s experiences.
In “Whose Culture Is It, Anyway? ”, Kwame Anthony Appiah begins by pointing out that some of the museums of the world, particularly in the West, have large collections of artefacts and objects which were robbed from developing and poor countries. He then raises a question: who owns these cultural patrimony and properties? Our first answer may be that since they make up the cultural heritage of a people, they belong to the people and culture from whom they were taken. Appiah has doubt about this and argues that if some cultural artefacts are potentially valuable to all human beings, they should belong to all of humanity. He thinks that when they make contribution to world culture, they should be protected by being made available to those who would benefit from experiencing them and put into trusteeship of humanity.
The study of metallurgy in Africa has been dominated by a concern with origins and antiquity. Some Anthropologists believe that African metallurgy was an early, independent invention, while others believe that it was an innovation, which came relatively late, and was a product of diffusion. With these two hypotheses as our only reference points, we are limited in our knowledge of metallurgy as well as its role in the lives of African people. Anthropologists often find themselves in the predicament of being presented with a small number of precedent theories, which shape and direct further studies.
Of the many crimes that are present in this day and age, one that not only vandalizes the property, but as well as historical background is that of art theft. A crime that has taken away the sanctity of churches as well as many other religious and historical sites. Thefts have ranged from WWII (World War II) to the times of the Holocaust. Of the items that were taken from the churches, relics were items of great priority. These items not only had great value to the churches they were stolen from, but a great value to relic collectors. Most of the items taking during these times were either sold or placed in underground storage. Most of these items that were place in these secret places were never to be seen again. From the times of these so called “relic hunters” to now, art theft has become something that has taken some extreme changes. It has evolved from crime that started with minor relic thefts to something that has become a worldwide crime in need of better prevention.
Since the discovery of gunpowder by the Chinese, the world as we know it has made more efficient and powerful weapons. Throughout the history of warfare from the medieval times to present day, explosives have been used as an Offensive and Defensive weapon. When a castle or army was under siege the attacking army would surround the objective and cut off all supply lines and try to starve the enemy into submission. With the invention of gunpowder it made the siege obsolete. This was empowered by the cannon and other forms of field artillery, which allowed the objective to be overthrown quickly. Military grade explosives are used for benign reasons also. Within the past few years an emphasis has been placed upon demining war torn countries that are ravaged by unclaimed and unaccounted mines emplaced by the host nation. This action is being undertaken to make the countries safer for the citizens of those countries. Throughout history stalemates have occurred during war, Engineers or Soldiers with knowledge of explosives were called upon to end the stalemate. This essay will cover one such incident during the Battle of Crater and the siege of Petersburg, Virginia during the American Civil War.