Archaeologist and curator Chip Colwell collects artifacts for his museum, but he also returns them to where they came from. In a thought-provoking talk, he shares how some museums are confronting their legacies of stealing spiritual objects and pillaging ancient graves — and how they're bridging divides with communities who are demanding the return of their cultural treasures.
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#Ted ..thanks for the knowledge.
How about the fact they are safer in museums abroad than being destroyed by fanatics in their native lands? Yes, I’m talking about ISIS for one.
no isis in greece, yet England still has part of the Parthenon.
If you mean the destruction of artifacts in Syria, well that was done by NATO backed terrorists. So, if you live in a NATO nation, you literally funded those artifacts destruction.
You can stfu up now.
Actually the video of isis destroying “lamassu” in Iraq is fake because they didn’t use the original ones. They have been smuggled outside Iraq. I remember also back in 2003 in my city, the Americans tried to lift the lion of Babylon with a helicopter but couldn’t. But I agree with idea that these artifacts are a product of humanity and it’s okay to be shared all around the world.
Japan holds many of Koreas ancient artifacts when they colonized them. Those should be returned and also not every place they are returning the artifacts to is in danger of terrorist attacks
Xeno Phon You are the idiot without a proof.
Because of SJW politics that everything is offensive, possessing objects that we use to study a culture is offensive and “appropriating culture.” And cowtowing to people who don’t even use museums
You don’t need to indefinitely possess the objects to study the culture. And I absolutely guarantee that you have never in your redneck life set foot in a museum.
Ok I get what you are saying. But are you ok if The Decleration of Indepence is stolen and is stored in a museum in a foreign country like China and Russia? After all its just an old parchment with a lot of copies of it. And besides they can take better care of it just like in the USA.
“cowtowing to people who don’t even use museums”
Hey fuckboy, your swastika is showing :/
Apparently their War Gods failed them.
When will Indians get back their kohinoor diamond that was once the crown jewel of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh
Dack Hacksaw I see that you go round leaving stupid comments. Do not underestimate the “enemy”. India, very soon, will be able to buy Britain.
Shirish Shukla The idea, in Britain, is that the diamond was given to Victoria by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh himself when he was an adult living in London, long after it was stolen from him when he was a child. But there is no proof and I think the diamond it’s part of the cultural heritage of India and should be returned, along with the Taj Mahal diamonds, statues, paintings and everything else stolen from India and everywhere else.
Never. Rightly so. It was gifted to us and belongs with us. And it will be preserved for generations to come.
Spoils of war from an empire that no longer exists. All is not lost though, you can go visit it at the Tower of London.
+Chris Mason
When someone enter our home without permission and take our valuable things we call it robbery not gift.
Плохо! Нет Русских субтитров!
Next: Native Americans want America back.
A roadside bomb wrapped in a suicide vest? HUH?
They’d probably do a better job with it than us. Social experiment- let’s do it
Anyone born here is a native. The people who lived here migrated from Siberia and China. The land belongs to no one. We just squat for a time.
+stefanos2691 that would mean deporting everyone back to countries they have never lived in nor have any ties too including harsh places that are still raping and murdering like Africa. But hey why not, for virtue sake
Amanda Anderson The people weren’t stolen from their countries, you moron. The artefacts were.
Stolen culture is only a problem when you’re white, but when it comes to any other race it is ignored lmfaooo
Nice knee jerk there boi.
Its a problem for all races white trash
Sure because nobody gets mad about looting outside of Europe and the USA
Nope
I can’t think of ANY nations in say..East Asia that have something to say on this matter
I don’t know any Asian or African country ever looted a European country and rob their artifacts.
Before i watched this talk, i hadn’t recognized how much important work archaeologists and museums do play in our world.
Can’t you make wargod replicas? Both sides win.
ok, let`s say they want to get their cultural objective back for their own reasons, then pay back the money invested to find that object, i mean, that is fair. Let`s see how many will pay for them then.
Interesting idea.
Most of these artifacts were found by individuals or funded by colleges or other organizations not government funding and since many of them are donated why should they pay them if they themselves got it for free
I’m simply amazed people find the concept of returning looted artefacts offensive. Conservatism is a T R I P
It’s an American thing. Every side has exactly two issues for these people. So if you hear something as non-controversial as “ice is cold”, you can bet right-wing resources like deeptruth.governmentsecrets.ru/realinfo are coming up with their measured rebuttal.
blue, Excuse me? Tell me where the Vatican got the St. Peter’s Square obelisk and who put it there. Hint: Not Americans.
+gnihton
Amazing. Not even a speck of self-awareness. Nations of people are being denied their own history, yet giving them access to it is the threat in your eyes.
If it’s pointless, then isn’t ownership of these objects also pointless?
It it belongs to one country because their ancestors stole it, doesn’t that give them the right to return the object to where it was made, if they so choose? Remember nobody is being forced to hand the objects over. If my country returns what it looted to another nation, that’s because we decided to do that, and you don’t get to tell us otherwise.
+DeoMachina “If it’s pointless, then isn’t ownership of these objects also pointless?”
Completely and totally devoid of any kind of reason. Just… why? Did you even read any of it? Why should I put more effort into this exchange than you do?
Of course you have the right to do what you want with *your* property… because it’s *your* property. Exercising your rights isn’t inherently moral though. I would say it’s immoral to send history into a shredder, as should anybody but the most misanthropic troglodyte. If the country has equivalent museums and respect for history, it is a morally neutral action – if they don’t, it is a morally bad action.
It sounds like cultures want to separate from populations they don’t want to share any of their history because they believe the people who possess it don’t deserve it maybe it’s true but how does that promote the human race
So they would be destroyed because of lack of care of proper infrastructure and funding by barbarians that receive them.
I disagree strongly. Museums are the best place for preservation.
Do you think other countries don’t have museums?
who else thought that thumbnail was a middle finger ?!
In Brazil we had 2 indigenous peoples’ museums in Rio de Janeiro. The first one’s collection had outgrown it, so the second one was established in a larger facility. The first museum then went into disrepair, and got to the point of being closed for safety reasons. And then something amazing happened.
Indigenous people discovered the old abandoned museum and began camping inside the premises when passing through town. When questioned, they just said they were indigenous people taking care of the indigenous people’s museum. In their own precarious situation, they breathed new live into the old museum, which quickly became a hub for indigenous populations, activists, athropologists and everything in between. A living thriving polytribe camping community developed. It has workshops, it had classes, it had a bit of social work, it had festivals, it had he tribes speaking for themselves to whoever wanted to learn from the primary source.
But when this community applied for official recognition as an institution, a living museum and cultural centre, they were denied. When the academic community of humanities and social sciences vouched for this community, it was ignored. When the Soccer World Cup came and the community was considered too ugly, too ideologically dangerous, too prone to inconvenient protesting, it was removed by force. To this day the old museum remains empty, just a ruin and nothing else. And thus ended the best native american museum experience ever. The end.
We need to stop letting people destroy positive community centers
Many sacred objects have been stolen from tribes all around the world, sold by corrupt people or acquired officially through laws that don’t recognize, much less respect the rights and wishes of their original and rightful owners. A lot of them have also been vandalized by people with “Artistic Spirit” trying to “Improve” them.
What right do you have to take something that belongs to someone else? Even when they are constantly asking you to give it back? You could say “It’s just a rock/a pile of bones/ a piece of wood, it’s no big deal, get over it”, well it may not be important to you but it is to them.
What if I took the Mona Lisa to my home and improved it with a moustache? What if someone decided to dig a family member out of their grave without asking your family? What if someone stole your favorite statue from your backyard and hid it in their basement because “It’s going to get ruined there”? Wouldn’t you be angry and offended?
Taking sacred objects away from people is taking away their right to practice their own culture and religion, which are basic human rights, however these tribes are often seen as simply primitive, ignorant and superstitious, so they are not given even minimal human respect and usually have no way of protecting themselves.
I don’t like religion or superstitions, and I get science is important, but not more than people, they have a right to believe and have their sacred objects with them, denying that from them is disrespectful, abusive and immoral.
If you want to see it or study it you can ask for permission, it’s not that hard, then this people can say if they’ll allow it or not, it’s their choice, not anyone else’s.
Conservatives in one country fighting conservatives in another. While im sure they both imagine some other ideology being at fault here. Talk about culture of victimhood.
It seems like the culturely sensitive people are just trying to bridge the gap rather then taking a big part in the battle.
……
…….Is it
Is it cause it’s the right thing to do?