Why do People Hunt for Artefacts?

Somebody from Denver Colorado sent a comment for some reason to the "Note to Comment Posters":

Sorry for leaving this in the "how to comment" section, but blogspot confounds me sometimes in how I can reach out to someone. I am wondering if you have any resources or suggestions on resources to determine root causes of looting and black market trade of antiquities. OBVIOUSLY a big part of it is money, but to what end? Individual wealth, funding a war cause (like is purportedly happening in Syria), drug cartels, etc...etc...?  Any input would be more than appreciated. I'm coming up with a lot of news on stolen artifacts, but I'm missing a key element which is the why. Thanks!

What's missing here is any indication of why this information is being sought, an essay or dissertation, a newspaper article, a submission to the CPAC, or some other purpose. Still the name used seems a real one and not another tiresome sock puppet which is a change these days.

I think there could be a variety of answers to that question, depending on which kind of looting and illicit/black market trade in antiquities we are talking about, when and where (and let's not forget ethnographic objects and art and antiques/collectables in general). Commercial interests are the first that come to mind, but other motivations might also be there. Why, do people hunt dinosaurs in the Gobi desert, metal detect in the fields of Norfolk or battlefields of Latvia, go trout fishing, bird egg collecting, rhino and elephant shooting, seal culling, butterfly and beetle  poisoning and pinning, autograph hunting? Is there likely to be one root cause for any of these activities and would it be the same as stamp or beermat collecting? Are stolen artefacts the same as stolen cars or stolen mobile phones? Not being a looter, dealer or smuggler myself, I could not answer that question, I suggest the enquirer asks a few coin dealers why they do it (start with those opposing the US "anti-looting" MOU)  and maybe register with a few metal detecting forums to see what motivations they reveal. She could try also the Yahoo ancient artefacts forum for collectors where Tim Haines and his "responsible collectors" would no doubt be happy to enlighten her as part of their show of "responsibility".

But actually, to some extent the criminologists are right, what the enquirer needs is to ask the criminologists what the root causes of this illicit activity are. She could start with the Trafficking Culture website in Glasgow and its online encyclopedia and publications. There's contact details there too. There was also the online series "Culture without context" and something there might be of use.

[This is the second time in three days somebody has sent a comment to that section of this blog. Please don't use it for that. If you cannot think of any other way to contact me, just stick a comment on the bottom of the latest post and I'll take it from there].



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