Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Blame Game
Archaeologist Donna Yates has again blamed Western collectors for looting in third world countries. Yet, in so doing, Yates lets on that workers employed on digs she has worked on have admitted to her that they engage in looting in the long off season. If archaeologists paid local diggers a fair living wage they would see no need to loot to help make ends meet. So, perhaps the blame should be on rich American Universities and archaeologists themselves rather than on Western collectors, who after all, collect not for money or fame, but for genuine interest in past societies.
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3 comments:
Ah, but that would be telling the truth and admitting fault. How dare you....
Yates, who is teaching law enforcement officials in her courses at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research has recently admitted that she wants to see the entire legal trade in ancient art simply go away. That seems a major conflict of interest for an academic. Her personal position is at best close-minded and naive, and at worst prejudicial against a perfectly legal and necessary sector of the art market.
Hi Peter:
Same old, same old. The good lady must be running short of facts. Reed Creek Archaeological Society, and Loyola University, to name but two organisations have had archaeologist members arrested and charged with theft of Native American artefacts from archaeological sites.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, eh?
Best
John Howland
UK
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