De La Hoya
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The purpose of an archaeologist is to study human cultural activities through the analysis of material remains. The importance of a site remaining uncontaminated and unaltered is vital in the process of reconstructing sites and accurately assessing the material remains. When a site is tampered with, and the context of a find is compromised, crucial information is lost. This is why looting is such a detrimental activity with irreversible results. Looting, synonymously associated with tomb robbing and smuggling, “is the illicit, unrecorded and unpublished excavation of ancient sites to provide antiquities for commercial profit” (Renfrew 2000: 15).
There are many different types of looters, like pothunters or huaqueros, who are driven by financial aspirations. Their intrusion into different sites all over the world has affected the amount of information available and the ability to fully develop hypotheses and understand different human societies. Their stolen objects, however, are not exclusively for private collections; rather, some have found homes in the show rooms of different prestigious museums. Giovanni Belzoni is a good representative of this occurrence and for this reason, councils, investigations, legislative acts, foundations and declarations, such as the UNESCO conference of 1970, The Philadelphia Act, and The Mimbres Foundation have been implemented in attempt to protect the multitude of undiscovered archaeological sites (Renfrew and Bahm 2000: 568-569).
Archaeologists are concerned with the study of human cultural activities through the analysis of material remains. It is an interdisciplinary study as archaeologists do not merely focus on biological or genetic connections of people, but are also interested in their critical thinking how they performed tasks. Material remains, which they also have to analyze and study, are the physical tools that archaeologists need in order to answer these questions. When looters enter a site and think they are merely retrieving a couple of objects, they are actually ruining the integrity of that site as a primary context. Looters, who enter sites, tend to disturb it by removing attractive textiles, metallurgy, and any object that is portable and seeming to be of value in the antiquities market. This concern with monetary value is a typical approach from non-archaeologists. It does not follow General Pitt-Rivers practice of being concerned with the collection of all artifacts.
Looting began as an activity that people from lower classes and facing economic oppression often turned to. Peruvians are a good example of this type of forced looting since majority of the people are impoverished, and live in shanty towns. They have many visual landmarks, such as Machu Picchu, the Nazca lines, and Pachacamac. However, because of all of the historical rich cultures located in and near Peru, there are plenty of remains. These remains tend to polarize, and be in either a very crowded area, occupied generally by the lower classes, or exclusive and segregated from the city. Many of these inhabitants, who live right next door to these archaeological digs, are unemployed. They realize that they can seize the opportunity and steal from these tombs and sell to tourists. Textiles and special pottery, known as huacos, are what these huaqueros steal. They are possessions that are fairly easy to smuggle from the country, but contribute to the loss of information from a site. The huacos and textiles tell archaeologists a significant amount of information regarding culture, religious beliefs, daily activities, sustenance and diet, and so much more. This is a loss of information to the general public, but to these huaqueros, it is another week of meals for their family.
Looting is not solely motivated by the economic factors. It is also encouraged because of human natures curiosity of the past. This curiosity can be linked to private collectors, who often solicit looters to find them particular objects from distinct cultures. This calls for greater protection of finds and the need to secure galleries and research centers. This measure is not ideal for archaeologists to work under, as their site is being modified, however, it is a necessary safety precaution. This can be seen when using the example of the Buddha of Angkor. This is a recent site that was uncovered in 2001. The Ta Som temple, where this twelfth century Buddha was rescued from, was used by the Khmer Rouge as a field hospital. This Buddha was luckily hidden and lay undisturbed below ground level. This is fortunate as the Khmer Rouge is infamous for their destruction of Buddhist statues and monasteries, leaving only the temples. The Buddha, which had been undisturbed for eight centuries, was moved the next day. A temple guard quoted by National Geographic stated regarding this swift action, “They must take it away quickly before someone steals it. For robbers, it is worth a new house and several new cars” (Gittings 2001). This economic drive is the result of the curiosity people have. They see these material remains as pieces of art, but do not recognize their scientific importance and relevancy within their primary context. Private collections are often collected through the Black Market. This is a means by which the most beautiful artifacts will be seen by the masses. Not allowing archaeologists to record such finds makes their existence go unrecognized, which results in breaks in the archaeological record.
Looting is also a precursor for tourism. The problem with looting, apart from the obvious archaeological drawbacks, is the media attention that is designated towards it. Looting is the way that these ancient sites, struggling to be preserved, gain more tourists, who in turn help the economy, however, degenerately destroy these sites. This high level of human activity introduces more pollution, such as motor vehicle exhaust, littering, and commercial construction which easily disturbs the foundation of these ancient sites. Tourism aids in further establishing national heritage, and generating capital, which is often the goal in these struggling nations (Bahn 1996: 368).
Looting has also been a result of greater social disturbances within a nation. It has been linked to activities of drug dealing and gun-running in many nations around the world, Cambodia being one of them (Renfrew and Bahm 2000: 569). It is also a result of when nations are struggling through difficult political, social, and economic times. Wartime is also when looting is in higher occurrences. This has been true for many years such as in World War II, when Hitlers Nazi army seized art pieces from Jewish homes and destroyed them. This selfish act is why there is a gap in provenance between 1933 and 1945. It can also be more recently seen in light of the Iraqi invasion of 2003. Iraqi archaeology is quite important, as it is thought