St. Louis Archaeological Group In Antiquities Sale Controversy Defies National Organization

St Louis Public Radio (ironically) ^ | Wed January 14, 2015 | Willis Ryder Arnold, Donna Korando & Stephanie Lecci

[SunkenCiv]

In November, the Society for American Archaeology sent a letter to the St. Louis organization that said, in part, "This action by the St. Louis Society constitutes a stark violation of the ethics of the science of archaeology." A basic problem is selling such items at auction, where they may be bought by private collectors and removed from public view and study.

"The objects in question, collectively known as the Harageh Collection, were entrusted to the St. Louis Society in 1914 in return for that organization's support of the Egyptian excavations directed by Sir Flinders Petrie," the letter reads. "They were intended to be placed in a public collection for the benefit of the people of St. Louis, specifically by broadening their knowledge of the human past."

But Acting President Michael Fuller said in a statement that the items had been kept in storage for most of the 100 years the organization had owned them, and that selling them to be placed in museums was "preferable to continued long-term storage in St. Louis."...

While AIA rules prohibit the sale of "looted" items, Fuller's statement indicates the items were "documented artifacts, obtained with permission of the applicable governments."...

"The AIA current bylaws, which state that no chapter can sell artifacts without a proper provenance, do not apply to the Mesoamerican objects as both have a clear history and have been published. They were given to the St Louis Society by Sylvanus Morley, a Mesoamerican archaeologist, in return for the organization partially underwriting his fieldwork, says Thomas Guderjan, a spokesperson for the Maya Research Program. "When [the objects] came up for auction, the Morley connection was not made apparent. With this provenance, it is certain the value of the objects has likely doubled," he says.

[SunkenCiv]

Bonhams is selling The Treasure of Harageh, which includes these five banded travertine objects

[SunkenCiv]

[DesertRhino]

Gay. Let people enjoy them. And amateur archeologists have contributed mightily to the body of knowledge. Why is archeology the sole domain on universities and government?

[DesertRhino]

This is some of the work of the uncredentialed amateur who found all the items to begin with. All he did would be illegal or scorned on today.

“In his teenage years, Petrie surveyed British prehistoric monuments (commencing with the late Romano-British ‘British Camp’ that lay within yards of his family home in Charlton) in attempts to understand their geometry (at 19 producing the most accurate survey of Stonehenge). His father had corresponded with Piazzi Smyth about his theories of the Great Pyramid and Petrie travelled to Egypt in early 1880 to make an accurate survey of Giza, making him the first to properly investigate how they were constructed (many theories had been advanced on this, and Petrie read them all, but none were based on first hand observation or logic).

Petrie’s published report of this triangulation survey, and his analysis of the architecture of Giza therein, was exemplary in its methodology and accuracy, disproved Smyth’s theories and still provides much of the basic data regarding the pyramid plateau to this day. On that visit, he was appalled by the rate of destruction of monuments (some listed in guidebooks had been worn away completely since then) and mummies. He described Egypt as “a house on fire, so rapid was the destruction” and felt his duty to be that of a “salvage man, to get all I could, as quickly as possible and then, when I was 60, I would sit and write it all.”

[colorado tanker]

Almost everything ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so what's the fuss about?

Beautiful objects, by the way.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks DesertRhino.

[SunkenCiv]

The fuss is probably about some officious pencil-necked dhimmis under the influence of CAIR or some other Islamofascist org.

[bert]

because that’s where the money is

Rich men funded expeditions in days gone by but were criticized for nor being professionals and their work did not meet academic standards

[OftheOhio]

Absolutely right. My state has many archeology sites that would be unknown except for the knowledge provided by us “amateurs” and shared with a few state archaeologist that actually make an effort at sharing information. The museums in southern Ohio are a big disappointment. The historical society’s on the other hand have a wealth of information and displays. I went to Butler county’s historical society and was amazed at all the history amassed in one location. The lady there went behind the display counter and pulled out the “Hueston Axe” (a famous pipe tomahawk) and handed it to me. What a personal touch. I went to the Warren county historical society and saw ten times more Fort Ancient arrowheads then at the actual Fort Ancient museum (plaster cast) they had. The whole brace of Jaeger rifles there got my mouth watering, haha.

[Nucluside]

Or there is the amateur archaeologist whom I consider to be the father of modern archaeology. He was the first to develop a research methodology, to dig in, identify, and note stratigraphic levels, as well as to shoot in provenances with a survey instrument and keep meticulous field notes. His name was Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia.