- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: Bristol Classical Press; 1 edition (Sep 7 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0715630342
- ISBN-13: 978-0715630341
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.6 x 1.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #899,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Colin Renfrew illustrates how the most precious product of archaeology is the information that excavations can illuminate about out shared human past. Yet the illicit digging of archaeological sites for gain - i.e. looting - is destroying the context in which archaeological findings can be understood, as well as sabotaging the most valued information. Today's art market is rife with the antiquities pilfered by these archaeological looters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well thought-out position on this tricky issue., May 3 2007
By W. Mitty "Deep In Thought..." - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Loot Legitimacy & Ownership (Paperback)
I think a reader must approach all books on the issue of cultural patrimony with careful deference to differing sensibilities that exist on the issue. This book is presented from the standpoint of a very aggressive, European concept of patrimony, focusing (as its title implies) on the illicit looting of antiquities and their summary introduction into the free market antiquities trade (a practice which is disdained by anyone of conscience)The book presents a mindful case on the nuances of antiquities ownership and buying, with a heavy emphasis on the importance of documented provenance. While I don't personally agree with all of the philosophical ideas promoted by the author, he certainly presents his position in a very professional and intelligent manner, worthy of consideration by everyone.
The only area where this book is slightly lacking was in addressing the issue of "old collection" antiquities, that often times were unapologetically assembled as a direct result of site looting- back during an age when such practices were viewed with far more permissiveness than they are today. This issue creates a very tricky nexus between private property rights and cultural patrimony rights that just doesn't have a morally clear, easy answer.
Overall, as a book, this one is a definite four stars. While not presented as a balanced perspective on the issue, it doesn't purport itself to be such, thus, it holds much validity as work of well thought-out opinion, representing one side of a two sided issue.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a low-res scan of the original., Feb 24 2011
By Anonymous - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Loot Legitimacy & Ownership (Paperback)
Potential buyers should know that the 2009 "impression" of this book is a low-resolution scan of the original (printed on low-grade paper). I learned this the hard way. The text is still legible, but the quality of the images is embarrassing--about the same as that of a photocopy.The book itself, of course, is one of a kind. If you're interested in the ethical issues pertaining to studying and collecting unprovenanced antiquities, Renfrew's argument is one you can't afford to ignore, even if you decide in the end that you don't agree with it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Universality of Looting of Archeological Treasures, Mar 31 2011
By Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Loot Legitimacy & Ownership (Paperback)
The reader unfamiliar with archeology may be shocked, as I was, upon learning of the scale of looting of ancient artifacts. Jan T. Gross, in his ZLOTE ZNIWA (GOLDEN HARVEST), has (with the help of extensive media publicity) brought the matter of looting of the dead to public consciousness. Gross has led readers to believe that Poles were prone to loot the dead, and Nazi-German-slain Jews were particularly vulnerable as targets of looting. Renfrew's book, elaborating on a different form of exploitation of the dead, soundly lays these notions to rest! Of course, grave robbery and archeological looting are not exactly the same, but they do have much in common. In each case, we encounter the situation of buried objects, whose owners are no longer alive, surreptitiously taken by those who hope to benefit or profit from them.Renfrew comments: "Just about every country in the world now suffers from the problem of the illicit excavation and the illegal export of antiquities. Surprisingly, perhaps, Britain and the United States, two of the worst offenders in the open sale of antiquities which have been looted overseas, are not themselves well protected against the commercial exploitation of antiquities uncovered upon their own land." (p. 81). "Every continent has suffered extensive depredations in recent years to its archaeological sites, and in some cases the damage has been catastrophic. As noted earlier this has been the case for centuries." (p. 52). "When one asks what may be done to curb the looting and the traffic in illicit antiquities, there is no single, simple answer." (p. 74).
This work features details on the looting of archeological artifacts in such places as Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, China, and Meso-America. There are appendices that contain reprints of position papers, written by various institutions and organizations, condeming this form of looting. A bibliography is provided for further study.
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