Latest in the concerns about artifacts as cultural property – [Link – BBC][Link – BBC] Aboriginal artefacts, including two early bark etchings, have been seized in Australia while on loan from two British museums. Members of the Dja Dja Wurrung tribe secured an emergency order preventing the items being returned to the British Museum and…
cultural politics
Julian Thomas and the dangers of scholasticism
Julian Thomas (Manchester University) and Mike Pearson (Wales, Aberystwyth) were the opponents in the defence of Jonna (Ulin) and Fiona’s (Campbell) dissertation in Gothenburg (see my blog entry for June 11). Something has been bugging me since then about Julian’s criticisms of their work. Jonna and Fiona make a basic proposition that archaeology is performance….
iconoclasm and the objective art historian – the case of the Bamiyan Buddhas
Nice remark from Jack (Mitchell) about the Taliban’s art criticism: I quite agree with these remarks on the Taliban and their Stinger missiles (the instruments of their art criticism, if I recall correctly). The fact remains, however, that if the Taliban genuinely believed in iconoclasm, and it seems they did believe in it, the one…
Bamiyan Buddhas in context
– iconoclasm and closed minds A thoughtful piece in the New York Times today by Roberta Smith Critic’s Notebook: Why Attack Art? Its Role Is to Be Helpful (Thanks to Tom Seligman for the link) In 2001 an international outcry met the Taliban’s destruction of two colossal Buddhas at Bamian in Afghanistan. The Buddhas were…
what Iran means to archaeologists
Guardian UK – Chicago’s Oriental Institute woos Iran with return of ancient tablets Three hundred ancient clay tablets which helped to provide information on the languages and daily life in the Persian empire 2,500 years ago are on their way back to Iran. The tablets are being returned by the oriental institute of the University…
the uncanny preservation of curse-laden mummies
archaeological archetypes Daily Telegraph | News | Ice Maiden triggers mother of all disputes in Siberia This story has it all. High in the Altai mountains of southern Siberia, where Shamans still practise their ancient rites and most people are descended from Asiatic nomads, there is a whiff of revolt in the air. Local officials,…