A Historical Research Of The Containment Of Looting And Illicit Traffic Of Cultural Relics In The West

Archaeology is aimed not just to excavate and collect artifacts but rather to ues physical remains to learn about people in the past. It records the stratigraphic layers in which the artefacts were found, including their positions in the groud, their ralationaships to other associated artifacts. Context is important to the the archaeologists, crucial information is obtained only through the systematic study of their excavated contexts. But when a site had beens looted, the contexts for the finds from it were destroyed too and could never be regained and reconstructed. The opportunity would therefore been lost to add any new understanding to the past history, even if the artifacts were recovered in the future.To fight against the looting and traffic in illcit antiquities is a global issue. Therefore, it is essential to make a binding international convention, which would allow governments to bear their responsibilities to protect the world cultural heritage.1970UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property has several important ways, such as the use of export certificates, import restrictions of stolen or illegally exported cultural property, and the emergency provision.1995UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects is complementary to the1970UNESCO Convention. Special rules have been developed in the UNIDROIT. The convention states that a cultural object which unlawfully excavated shall be considered stolen. The convention also establishes clear criteria for diligent acquirers. The formulation of international conventions involves the differences legal system such as foreign public law, and national political system and other aspects of the problem.The U.S. did not formally accede to the Convention until1983, after the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CCPIA) had been passed. Over the ten years from1970, there were active debates among competing interests about the Convention’s implementation. CCPIA allows the U.S. to impose import restrictions on categories of archaeological or ethnological materials subject to pillage that jeopardizes the national cultural patrimony of source country.Authentication and study of aqntiquities is in pursuit of objectivity. But to authenticate and study antiquities of unknown provenance would provide these antiquities with an academic pedigree and academic significance, which might translate into monetary value. The commercialization of archaeological objects—their uses as commodities to be exploited for personal profit—ould result in the destruction of archaeological sites all over the world. It would destroy the foundations on which human knowledge was built. Public benefit is the basic ethic principle of scientific activity. Now, west academic community shares the view that ethical problems involved in the authentication of antiquities and reflected the relation between scientific research and responsibility. Many learned societies established code of ethics which refrain from authenticating or valuating the antiquities of unknown provenance.Functions of museum is not only the collection, exhibition, but also the study and education. The behavior of Museum’s purchasing or reciving through gift or bequest antiquities of unknown or illcit antiquties involve legality, ethics and scientifically disastrous. During the1970s, many museums published ethical acquisition policies. They make clear that a meseum should not acquire by purchase, gift, bequest any object that exported in contravenention of the law of the country of origin or their recovery involved the unscientific or intentional destruction of archaeological sites.With the prospect of escalating site destruction, a new branch--public archaeology--was born. It advocates the government, archaeologists and the public protection of the archaeological resources cooperation. The content of educational archaeology focuses on conveying the basic knowledge of archaeology, archaeological research significance, the importance of cultural heritage protection, the damage of loot to the public, so that enhance public awareness level of archaeology and culture heritage protection consciousness.Looting and traffic of illcit anyiquties are an extremely complicated problem. It involves politics, law, ethics and other aspects, such as the efficacy of foreign public law, differences between civil law and common law, differences of national political system, the dilemma between science goals and archaeological resources protection, conflict viem of nationalism and internationalism of antiquity. The dispute should return to the discussion of the source of the problem. It should from the academic point of view consider how to better promote the realization of the fundamental value of antiqutity. Protection of the archaeological resources for future science to discover and acquire historical knowledge should be of the most important value.