Episode 43 - Spilling the Antiqui-Tea: Artifact Trafficking and the Antiquities Black Market

Psst. Do you want to buy some archaeology? WELL WE DON'T HAVE ANY TO SELL YOU, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE WRONG. But that hasn't stopped other people from doing it! Join us this week for a Very Special Sponsored Episode on the antiquities black market, the harm it does to archaeology and to real living people all over the world, and some of the folks doing extremely cool things to protect cultural heritage.

To learn even more, check out:

How Tomb Raiders are Stealing Our History (National Geographic)

Archaeological Looting (Expedition)

Archeology Law and Ethics (National Parks Service)

Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970 (UNESCO)

National NAGPRA Home (National Parks Service)

Buyer Beware: Looted Antiquities Flood Online Sites Like Amazon, Facebook (Wall Street Journal)

Prominent Art Family Entangled in ISIS Antiquities-Looting Investigations (Wall Street Journal)

An antiquities dealer’s libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s publisher was dismissed. (Artsy)

After $31 Million Sale of 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Relief, Experts and Artists Denounce Christie’s (Hyperallergic)

Record-Setting Sale Of An Ancient Assyrian Stone Relief Sparks Looting Fears In Iraq (NPR)

Hobby Lobby’s Black-Market Buys Did Real Damage (The New York Times)

Space Archaeologist Sarah Parcak Uses Satellites to Uncover Ancient Egyptian Ruins (Smithsonian)

Space Archaeologist Wants Your Help To Find Ancient Sites (NPR)

Archaeology from Space (TED Talks)

About the GlobalXplorer° project

Looters Beware: The British Museum Is Leading an International Task Force Fighting the Illicit Trade in Egyptian Antiquities (Artnet)

Illegal trade in antiquities: a scourge that has gone on for millennia too long (The Conversation)

Egyptian treasures smuggler is jailed (The Independent)

Photo credit: “Iraqi Col. Ali Sabah, commander of the Basra Emergency Battalion, displays ancient artifacts Iraqi Security Forces discovered Dec. 16, 2008, during two raids in northern Basra.” U.S. Army photo by Multi-National Division South East PAO, via Wikimedia Commons.

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