Cultural Artifact Research Paper
Essay Task 1 “Should Cultural Artifacts be returned to their country of Origin?”
Every one of us has seen the marvelous pieces of priceless artifacts such as paintings and sculptures displayed in our local museums. We enjoy glancing at them so much that when we finally exit the museum, we desire to see them again the next day in the same exact spot, as if they belong to the museum. Most of us forget the fact that these artifacts which we assume are owned by the museum have their individual histories and places of origin. Indeed it is a good thing for us to examine these artifacts and feel the cultural relevance that they behold, at our closest museums; however there are several problematic points that we must take into consideration. There …show more content…
Artifacts that were obtained by past warfare as loot or repatriations sometimes lose what culture they originated in. In the United States, the government now owns artifacts that were made from Native Americans. Both the Native Americans and the US citizens are considered "American" so which culture do the artifacts really belong? In order to solve this problem the US federal Government passed the Native American Graves Protections and Repatriation act, which gave Native American tribes the legal authority to reclaim artifacts from federally funded museums. The law requires museums to return sacred artifacts used for ceremonial purposes and keep an up-to-date inventory check of all items that have Native American backgrounds. (Annenberg Classroom. 2012). The law was passed since most of these items were purchased with value less then the object beholds, or stolen with little legal action. Laws like this may solve problems within country but situations where the issue is set internationally are much more painstaking. Many modern phenomenons such as war cause large disturbances in the art world, especially when items are looted/stolen from their country of origin. The Website RT Question more (2013) reports on a news article which state the following: “On top of thousands of looted or illegally obtained cultural artifacts during the war, billions of dollars have also been transferred out of “Iraq’s Central banks to US without any paper trail.” The Iraqi architect estimated there are about “35,000 small and large items missing from the National Museum of Iraq which was plundered before their very eyes, lasting three days without the occupation forces stepping in at all.” Due to this, over 1 billon dollars was demanded for repatriation of the Iraqi Artifacts but the United
Every one of us has seen the marvelous pieces of priceless artifacts such as paintings and sculptures displayed in our local museums. We enjoy glancing at them so much that when we finally exit the museum, we desire to see them again the next day in the same exact spot, as if they belong to the museum. Most of us forget the fact that these artifacts which we assume are owned by the museum have their individual histories and places of origin. Indeed it is a good thing for us to examine these artifacts and feel the cultural relevance that they behold, at our closest museums; however there are several problematic points that we must take into consideration. There …show more content…
Artifacts that were obtained by past warfare as loot or repatriations sometimes lose what culture they originated in. In the United States, the government now owns artifacts that were made from Native Americans. Both the Native Americans and the US citizens are considered "American" so which culture do the artifacts really belong? In order to solve this problem the US federal Government passed the Native American Graves Protections and Repatriation act, which gave Native American tribes the legal authority to reclaim artifacts from federally funded museums. The law requires museums to return sacred artifacts used for ceremonial purposes and keep an up-to-date inventory check of all items that have Native American backgrounds. (Annenberg Classroom. 2012). The law was passed since most of these items were purchased with value less then the object beholds, or stolen with little legal action. Laws like this may solve problems within country but situations where the issue is set internationally are much more painstaking. Many modern phenomenons such as war cause large disturbances in the art world, especially when items are looted/stolen from their country of origin. The Website RT Question more (2013) reports on a news article which state the following: “On top of thousands of looted or illegally obtained cultural artifacts during the war, billions of dollars have also been transferred out of “Iraq’s Central banks to US without any paper trail.” The Iraqi architect estimated there are about “35,000 small and large items missing from the National Museum of Iraq which was plundered before their very eyes, lasting three days without the occupation forces stepping in at all.” Due to this, over 1 billon dollars was demanded for repatriation of the Iraqi Artifacts but the United