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Date: | Wed, 19 Apr 2006 18:11:02 -0400 |
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Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:23:41 -0400
From: Joe Roberts <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Individual rights and relic hunting: Thorny issues
Somebody in this thread said the property rights issue is a "higher level of
abstraction" in this debate. I take issue. It is the lowest common
denominator. I have made several attempts to talk to the collector community
here in Virginia, with essentially no success. The profound difference
between collectors and archaeologist is the USE to which excavation is put.
For collectors, excavation is artifact mining. No matter how much they
treasure the outcome, or how little of their horde they sell, they are
completely unwilling to acknowledge the archaeologists' goal of increasing
knowledge as the primary objective.
They want to root out their artifacts and press them close to their little
(or big) bosoms to feel the 'spiritual' connection to the past. No matter
how carefully, respectfully, and congenially you point out to them that they
are destroying important information about the past, and thus defeating
their own purpose at a higher level of abstraction, they will respond: "You
archaeologists just want the goodies for yourselves". This is the only
defense they can mount because if they accept the premise that what they do
is actually destructive, they will have to admit that they are simply
vandals. Their guilty response indicate that they do know this -- they just
don't like to be told that their little hobby is in fact an uncivilized
destruction of history.
Some will object that my "bad attitude" is the problem, but in fact I went
into my initial encounters with the idea that if they could just be made to
understand, they could be made into partners (this should NOT be taken to
reflect on the Archaeological Society of Virginia, which is a genuine
partnership between amateurs and professionals).
Contrary to my normal take on social action, in the case of the looters I
think that throwing them in jail and confiscating their SUVs is about the
only action that has any effect.
Tim T.
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