Scan barcode
dangerousnerd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
I love a book that makes you reconsider what you think you believe! I thought I knew what I thought about digging up archaeological remains (long influenced by a couple years doing so in college) but this book made me think about it in a whole new way. And his prose! It made me fall in love with the southwest all over again.
The line “I cry the whole time” killed me 😭
The line “I cry the whole time” killed me 😭
wyrdmedieval's review
3.0
As someone with an interest and a career in cultural heritage, this book was thought-provoking and, at times, infuriating, but I think that was the author's goal. The book provides an insight into the collection, plunder, sale, and gatekeeping of cultural heritage from the perspective of someone largely removed from the academic infrastructure that the author seems to believe is doing more harm than good in its efforts to preserve the past. The perspective mostly focuses on the archaeology of the Americas, but occasionally touches on other places where archaeological heritage is contested and largely excavated by those to whom the artifacts do not "belong;" I would be interested to learn whether and how these opinions would differ when looking at cultural heritage stewardship by and for locals and descendants of the material in question.
It's not the easiest to get through if you struggle to read about the many ways that history and heritage are damaged by passers-by, but I'll be thinking about some of the questions that the author raised for a while.
It's not the easiest to get through if you struggle to read about the many ways that history and heritage are damaged by passers-by, but I'll be thinking about some of the questions that the author raised for a while.
krism's review against another edition
3.0
The book brought up questions I hadn't thought about. To whom does, or should, ancient relics belong? When jewelry, pots, and other items are found in an ancient grave, should they be left alone because they had spiritual significance to the people who put them there? (And still have spiritual signifcance to the descendents?) Or, should they be removed and shared? And, shared where? A museum (most likely a museum warehouse) or in a private collector's collection? Was Indiana Jones a hero or a villian? This is a fairly short book and was worth the read.
livrad's review against another edition
4.0
This book dives into questions of ethical acquisition, provenance, indigenous land and artifact rights, the black market, and the purpose of archeology in general. This was one of those books that I kept bringing up to other people when I was reading it, telling the juiciest bits [like how the Peabody Museum once gave back artifacts to the Hopi without telling them first that they were now poisoned to the touch. Or, how conversely, the Peabody also now keeps its collection based on the requests of individual cultures, such as keeping items covered/positioning them toward a particular cardinal direction/keeping them out of the view of women/allowing offerings of fresh tobacco and cornmeal.].
The questions and answers posed in the book go along a whole spectrum of opinions toward archeology and how they have changed over time. One of the loudest arguments is for archeology in-situ. The other primary theme is that too many artifacts have been unfairly stolen and should be returned, something that many major institutions are starting to realize and comply with. "It matters where things are; stories are told differently as they get shuffled from one place to another. A statue in a museum guarded by a motion detector is not that same statue in a shrine with its feet being kissed off. Moving it under a roof may give us a new past to revel in, but at least consider the equal and opposite reaction: what has happened to the thing that has been lost?" From the archeologist who searched for years for a temple to discover a mural, restore and preserve it, and then leave it unmarked to the jungle once more--to the confusion of his colleagues--"But there isn’t a better spot, a place climate-controlled with an eternal power source not affected by earthquakes. The oldest building in the United States that is still standing is about three hundred fifty years old, and I’m not sold on that kind of longevity. This temple has been here for two thousand years. Beat that.”
The final question is about the future of museums and collections. The curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, questioned if in the centuries to come there would even be museums, but that for sure, "The collections you and I are now looking at will have gone home.”
The questions and answers posed in the book go along a whole spectrum of opinions toward archeology and how they have changed over time. One of the loudest arguments is for archeology in-situ. The other primary theme is that too many artifacts have been unfairly stolen and should be returned, something that many major institutions are starting to realize and comply with. "It matters where things are; stories are told differently as they get shuffled from one place to another. A statue in a museum guarded by a motion detector is not that same statue in a shrine with its feet being kissed off. Moving it under a roof may give us a new past to revel in, but at least consider the equal and opposite reaction: what has happened to the thing that has been lost?" From the archeologist who searched for years for a temple to discover a mural, restore and preserve it, and then leave it unmarked to the jungle once more--to the confusion of his colleagues--"But there isn’t a better spot, a place climate-controlled with an eternal power source not affected by earthquakes. The oldest building in the United States that is still standing is about three hundred fifty years old, and I’m not sold on that kind of longevity. This temple has been here for two thousand years. Beat that.”
The final question is about the future of museums and collections. The curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, questioned if in the centuries to come there would even be museums, but that for sure, "The collections you and I are now looking at will have gone home.”
nsnider2214's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
themissyreads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Childs does a really fantastic job of laying out all the complexities of the issues involved with archeology, artifacts, antiquities, etc. he’s careful never to villify any one side of the equation. He brings up counterarguments but still gets his point across, and its a Good Point, one thats taken him decades to figure out. Not eveey site needs to be dug up, let some mysteries endure for the future.
This book featured 2 of the most fucked up things I’ve ever read in my life— one in chapter 2 featuring the repatriated Hopi artifacts, and all of chapter 9 on salvage archeology. Not even something you can make a content warning for: just sheer tragic callousness, I struggle to find words to express other than to say “That is Extremely Fucked Up” and the people involved arent even evil themselves!
This book featured 2 of the most fucked up things I’ve ever read in my life— one in chapter 2 featuring the repatriated Hopi artifacts, and all of chapter 9 on salvage archeology. Not even something you can make a content warning for: just sheer tragic callousness, I struggle to find words to express other than to say “That is Extremely Fucked Up” and the people involved arent even evil themselves!