Sale of The Euphronios Krater: The Met’s ‘Hot Pot’
The shocking story of the Euphronios Krater. An audio recording of this step is available here. Background The Euphronios (Sarpedon) krater is a large ceramic vessel (46 cm high and …
Course: Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime
Restitution of artefacts from New Zealand
There are noticable gaps in the legal protection offered to Maori cultural property as it is currently managed under domestic and international laws. With cultural items having been spirited-away en …
From the black market to the open market
The paths that stolen antiquities follow as they’re smuggled are difficult to trace. What steps do looted antiquities go through in order to get from their origin to collections? And …
Crowdsourced archaeological research and the fight against illicit antiquities trafficking
In cases where art, artefacts or heritage sites have been displaced or destroyed, the physical nature of heritage preservation becomes much more difficult to quantify. The tangible, haptic (physical, touchable) …
Statue Smuggling, Conflict, and Organised Crime in Cambodia
Decades of extreme unrest can lead to a breakdown in the forces that protect antiquities from theft and trafficking. NOTE: Be careful to not confuse the ancient Khmer Empire/Culture with …
Who are antiquities looters?
What is ‘Subsistence Looting’? From the Trafficking Culture Encyclopedia The term ‘subsistence digger’ or ‘subsistence looter’ is used to refer to an individual who engages in the illicit excavation of …
The culture of looting at Easter in Peru
On the north coast of Peru, Easter is a time for family and, sometimes, for grave robbing. An audio recording of this step is available here or at the bottom …
The importance of context
What is archaeological context, and why can’t looted objects speak for themselves? Dr Donna Yates explains why context matters in understanding the past, what we lose without it, and why …
History of the Ancient Maya Buenavista Vase
When an artefact is looted, its archaeological context is lost. An audio recording of this article is available here or at the bottom of the page. Without knowing exactly where …
Q&A Video: Antiquities Trafficking
During the first run of this course in January 2016, Donna held a live online session to answer questions about the topic of Antiquities Trafficking. The video of this chat …
Antiquities trafficking
What are antiquities and why do we value them? If looting has been around for centuries, what’s so new and important about looting today? Watch Dr Donna Yates discuss the …
The G’psgolox Totem Pole: Case Study
A case study of heritage theft and cultural survival. In 1872, the leader of the Eagle Clan of the Haisla, Chief G’psgolox, set off into the woods in a state …
