-Why there are pyramids in Egypt?
-Because Brits couldn't moved them to British Museum.
Imagine doing a Gate of Ishtar maneuver but with the pyramids
It's not quite the same thing (particularly because of the motivation), but, uhh…I suggest you read about Abu Simbel, if you haven't already.
To be fair. Most of the pyramids were raided far before the British took an interest and whatever they held has now been lost to time.
What's the opinion on certain high risk countries where there's a high likelihood of the artifacts simply being destroyed? If I remember correctly ISIS and other similar organizations have burned or bombed several historical sites before.
Museums should participate in cultural exchange, if a museum feels under threat then they have channels they can trust to protect their artifacts until they can be returned
if a museum feels under threat
If you run a museum in Afghanistan and are afraid that the Taliban is going to execute you unless you destroy some blasphemous statue, are you going to risk your life to send the artifact to the British Museum, or are you just going to destroy it? Yeah, some heroes will definitely risk their lives, but most won't.
The only opinion that should matter is that of the people the artifacts belong to.
“It’s safer with us” is an excuse that’s been abused by colonizers and raiders for too long.
What if some of the locals want it taken away for protection, but the government wants it destroyed?
There's no clear 'owner' in many cases. I think it places where it's uncertain, then we should prioritize saving the artifacts over the ones that seek to destroy them.
The only opinion that should matter is that of the people the artifacts belong to.
Which people? The government? So in Afghanistan it's up to the Taliban? If you don't trust that the government of a country represents the will of the people, then how do you determine what the people want?
And, again, which people? Is a totem pole in a museum in Canada the property of the Canadian people? Or is it something that belongs to the Haida people, and it doesn't matter what other Canadians want? If it is up to the Haida, it is up to the Council of the Haida Nation, or is it up to the band the original artist belonged to?
What about a Tatar artifact found in Donetsk? Who gets control over that? Is it the Russians since they occupy Donetsk? The Ukrainians because they used to occupy it? Do you have to study the blood of various Ukrainian people to figure out who has the most surviving Tatar DNA?
We have to be extremely wary of people who cite that because it's so easily used as a justification for artifact theft and can have deep roots in racism.
That's the question. Where is the line between racism and artifact protection?
Presumably somewhere between racism and artifact protection.
If you're suggesting a daring heist at the Smithsonian, I'm in!
Much like the theft of historical artifacts by the UK et al, ISIS was the result of decades of imperialist meddling by the US. Maybe just leave things be and let the locals work out what they want to do with their land, their people, and the artifacts on it. Offering assistance without strings attached is good, interventions are bad.
It's like offering to help your neighbor with their yard: it's acceptable to offer to lend them your mower, but it's not acceptable to dig up everything on their property, replace it with grass sod, and spray it regularly with herbicides because you didn't like the look of their local fauna and are afraid the dandelions and clover would spread to your lawn after your first intervention.
i need someone to convince me why it is wrong to steal from the British museum gift shop
Gonna play a game of comment roulette. How far do I have to scroll before I see someone say something like, "That can't be in their museum because they can't be trusted with it".
Spinning the chamber now.
Edit: turns out I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Now I sad.
better a museum than on a shelf in someone's living room (no I won't be donating it)
They are my human skulls I found them fair and square
Marion, this is a movie made in the 1980s and set in the 1930s, what the hell are you even talking about?
That attitude gets retconed in the great circle.
where he explicitly says that it belongs in a museum and helps locals get their relics to keep safe in their museums. ie, it belongs in their museums.
good game overall
Gotta love how the first movie opens with him stealing an idol from an uncontacted Peruvian tribe, and the heroic music swells as he narrowly escapes with spears flying around them.
Granted, this takes place in 1936 and his actions were the norm for the period, but despite coming out in 1981 the movie plays this scene out rather uncritically.
He narrowly escapes with his life after having the idol stolen from him by his rival, Belloq, who works for the Nazis and actually hired that Peruvian tribe to be his little private army. Belloq then orders the Peruvians to attack Jones and he barely escapes on his hired plane.
Temple of Doom had way more questionable scenes in it with the banquet, the heroic British soldiers at the end and... Short Round. Did they really have to name him that?
Although the cultists were based on a real group and I actually saw something that looked like the heart thing in an Indian movie, so maybe that's based on something real as well.
scandalized stare
edit *innocent stare I meant
It should belong to the country of origin, but it could also be shared and tour around museums across the globe so an even greater number of people can check it out. They do this with art pieces. Why not cultural artifacts, too? Is not everyone entitled to learning about anything, including someone else's culture?
I would assume there would be arguments around transporting them increasing the chances of it breaking. It would really only make sense to move these back to their country of origin and have them remain there to minimize potential points of failure. The rarer the artifact itself (another rusted out sword or plain clay cup versus a one of a kind manuscript whose pages have become incredibly delicate) the less their respective owners are going to want it to be moved.
Instead, we should be allowing more people the ability to travel and take time to go explore other cultures in their country of origin instead of trying to transport priceless artifacts across the globe.
Countries and borders are an arbitrary concept created during the peace treaty of Westphalia.
Those relics belong to dead people.
Attributing modern concepts of borders to Westphalia is a Eurocentric worldview. What, you don't think they had the concept of statehood and sovereignty in Asia for at least a few thousand years prior to this?
Why are there pyramids in egypt?
Because they were too big for the british museum.
Well I'm British so... fuuuck that!
Karen Allen, the perfect example of aging naturally and radiating beauty.
Britannia Jones and the stolen museum artifacts.
They're too poor to have museums so by default yoink
The museum could pay rent per item to the country the artifacts originate from? Bad idea?
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