91–100 of 283 posts
what a bizarre timeline we live in (edit: to be clear what I mean is that it's extremely bizarre that a discount tchochke store in the US would own an extremely precious Mesopotamian artifact in the first place, not bizarre that justice is actually being done about it)
This NPR, source we should trust. It carefully avoids to say that tablet was stollen from Iraq during US invasion. Whole museums and collections were stollen during that time by advancing US soldiers and "contractors". I highly doubt HobbyLobby owners didn't know origin of this tablet.
> "Whenever looted cultural property is found in this country, the United States government will do all it can to preserve heritage by returning such artifacts where they belong," How does this tablet differ from any other artifact in a museum? Couldn't it be argued that any ancient artifact from another culture is stolen?
Many historical artifacts were obtained under conditions we would not repeat today. You could argue that almost all artifacts of other cultures in western museums are stolen, but not everyone goes that far. The British Museum is embroiled in many such controversies[1] and has put up statements around their Parthenon sculptures[2]. Large artifacts have been returned by nation states[3]. Generally, as I understand it,…
Meanwhile the Louvre is so big (>2.5x the size) that you have to pace yourself.
But that's not what was really disappointing. I had a vague comprehension that the British Museum contained artifacts that other countries wanted repatriated, and then I walked in and I knew. I knew exactly what they were talking about.
It didn't feel like a museum. It felt like I had wandered into a pirates treasure cave. Other museums have works that were purchased through channels, or loaned out. They have cultural artifacts and archaeological pieces that are contemporary to the region, offering vignettes into history, how we got to be here today.
I was just looking at colonial plunder. In an era where sane people would be scrambling to define themselves any other way.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wait until you read about the Roman Republic thousands of years before this time - you’re gonna love it.
And the indus river valley civilization! They had a pretty advanced irrigation system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilisation#Clim...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The destruction of Baghdad itself, including the House of Wisdom (large library), by the Mongols in 1258 is probably a more apt comparison. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Baghdad_(1258)
What a tragedy. Most westerners don't realize that when Europeans were living in mud huts and emptying their chamber pots into the streets, the Muslim world had plumbing, water filtration, surgery, advanced mathematics, and many more amazing scientific advances which quickly spread throughout Muslim countries due to the cultural exchange at Mecca. I wonder what the world could have been like if the Mongols had never…
I wonder, why did they get stuck into the past still being ruled either by a monarch or some religious leader?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This to me is the most egregious part: > [...] authorities said it bought thousands of artifacts that had been smuggled out of Iraq. Some of the items on display at the Museum of the Bible had been looted from previously unknown archaeological sites. Breathtakingly unethical.
...assuming that they knew they were looted. You could make a case that, yes of course these items were looted, and they turned a blind eye to that. But you could also make a case that they trusted a 3rd party to validate the artifacts. Don't forget this is the group that voluntarily funded research that eventually proved some of their most prized possessions were, in fact, forgeries[0], so we have to assume they hav…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What a tragedy. Most westerners don't realize that when Europeans were living in mud huts and emptying their chamber pots into the streets, the Muslim world had plumbing, water filtration, surgery, advanced mathematics, and many more amazing scientific advances which quickly spread throughout Muslim countries due to the cultural exchange at Mecca. I wonder what the world could have been like if the Mongols had never…
One could say the same thing about a lot of conquerors including the Arab armies. For example, when the Arab armies conquered North Africa, it was one of the richest and most developed areas in the Mediterranean. After the Arab conquest, it became a backwater and never achieved the prominence it had before. Also, in Egypt, the Great Pyramid was once covered with gleaming white limestone, but this was removed and used…
This is a very misleading distortion of history. The limestone casing on the Great Pyramid was destroyed in an earthquake in 1308 CE. The limestone rubble was pulled from the base of the pyramid and repurposed for building though much of it was also burned in kilns for lime like the marble of many ancient buildings and temples from the ancient world all around the Mediterranean by people of many and various religions and nationalities.
>When the Arab armies conquered North Africa, it was one of the richest and most developed areas in the Mediterranean. After the Arab conquest, it became a backwater and never achieved the prominence it had before.
You really ought to read up on the Islamic Golden Age.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
According to the most recent study data (2017), an average of 16 veterans commits suicide every day here in the US. Claiming that it "isn't so bad" is remarkably callous.
Perhaps unexpectedly, among veterans who served during the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, those who were deployed have a lower suicide risk than those who were not deployed [1]. Anyone have any explanation for this? [1] https://www.publichealth.va.gov/epidemiology/studies/suicide...
From your question, I guess maybe you have the impression that "deployment" means "regular combat', or even "any combat". Maybe things will make more sense if you think about this as a comparison between "people who mostly stayed on base overseas/at sea" vs. "people who mostly stayed on base state-side". Most of the military is non-combat, and only a small percentage of even combat arms every see combat. (Also, the military is not exactly safe even when you don't deploy. Even with two active wars on, there have been years since 2001 when more troops died from non-combat accidents than from combat).
It's true that "war is 10% bullets and 90% logistics", but it's also true that the US runs its military as a sort of rural jobs program of last resort. So you're drawing from a highly vulnerable population to begin with, and then probably not deploying the bottom parts of that distribution. Guess which part of the distribution is also most likely to struggle finding work or getting through school post-deployment.
The mundane everyday reality of living in poverty in America is far more deadly than the battle fields.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's basically a function of when the artifact was taken. Older generations (I'm thinking pre 1900s) of historians, archeologists and explorers didn't think anything of it. And often in the colonial era, there wasn't a native government or state that could take possession of those artifacts. From reading history books, I think there was more of a finders-keepers mentality back then. EDIT: from reading another…
It also breaks apart a potential comprehensive collection. The Mayan collection from the Guatemalan government is currently in a traveling tour. Saw it in Vancouver as a special exhibit and it was a truly great exhibit that would be impossible if all those pieces were in different collections around the world.
It's a thorny problem. That local and often very impoverished communities will value their history enough to pay the costs of protecting it from being (legally or illegally) sold off in bits to the international market, is not a given. Local museums are often a cornerstone of establishing that value.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One could say the same thing about a lot of conquerors including the Arab armies. For example, when the Arab armies conquered North Africa, it was one of the richest and most developed areas in the Mediterranean. After the Arab conquest, it became a backwater and never achieved the prominence it had before. Also, in Egypt, the Great Pyramid was once covered with gleaming white limestone, but this was removed and used…
It’s extremely unlikely the limestone casing for the pyramids was still around at the time of the Caliphate. Do you have any sources for that? It wasn’t all that long ago, relatively speaking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza#Casing_s...