The Market for Mesoamerica - (Maya Studies) by Cara G Tremain & Donna Yates (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Discussions on the illicit trafficking of precolonial cultural heritage itemsPre-Columbian artifacts are among the most popular items on the international antiquities market, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor these items as public, private, and digital sales proliferate.
- Author(s): Cara G Tremain & Donna Yates
- 232 Pages
- Social Science, Archaeology
- Series Name: Maya Studies
Description
About the Book
This timely volume explores past, current, and future policies and trends concerning the sales of antiquities from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, which are among the most popular items on the international antiquities marketBook Synopsis
Discussions on the illicit trafficking of precolonial cultural heritage items
Pre-Columbian artifacts are among the most popular items on the international antiquities market, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor these items as public, private, and digital sales proliferate. This timely volume explores past, current, and future policies and trends concerning the sales and illicit movement of artifacts from Mesoamerica to museums and private collections. Informed by the fields of anthropology, economics, law, and criminology, contributors critically analyze practices of research and collecting in Central American countries. They assess the circulation of looted and forged artifacts on the art market and in museums and examine government and institutional policies aimed at fighting trafficking. They also ask if and how scholars can use materials removed from their context to interpret the past.
The theft of cultural heritage items from their places of origin is a topic of intense contemporary discussion, and The Market for Mesoamerica updates our knowledge of this issue by presenting undocumented and illicit antiquities within a regional and global context. Through discussion of transparency, accountability, and ethical practice, this volume ultimately considers how antiquities can be protected and studied through effective policy and professional practice.
Contributors: Cara G. Tremain Donna Yates Martin Berger Allison Davis James Doyle Rosemary Joyce Nancy L. Kelker Guido Krempel Christina Luke Sofia Paredes Maury Adam Sellen
A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase
Review Quotes
"The book's fresh insights break new paths of research in archaeological looting, the antiquities trade, and national and international heritage law."--Anthropology Book Forum
"An insightful and fascinating exploration. . . . Offers a cutting-edge analysis of the antiquities market that should be of interest to archaeologists, museum professionals, and art historians as well as criminologists and sociologists."--Hispanic American Historical Review
