1. Why is looting a problem for understanding a society’s art and culture?
Looting is a problem for understanding a society’s art and culture because as artifacts are taken away from archaeological sites so is all of the information that the artifact could have told archaeologists. Once the setting and location of an artifact is lost, a majority of the information that could be retrieved from it is lost as well. For example, archaeologists can learn a lot about artifacts by studying their location relative to other things. They may learn about an artifact’s use, age, creation, etc. Some materials cannot be dated using dating techniques; the only way to determine the age of such objects is by studying their location to other objects in the ground
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Members of the culture, whose petroglyphs have been vandalized feel as though a part of their history has been taken away from them. The vandalization of petroglyphs upsets the members of the culture because they are a part of the group’s history, culture, art, etc. These people feel disappointed that they will not be able to show future generations the art of their past. Overall, people, within the culture whose petroglyphs have been vandalized, feel devastated by their loss of culture. It leaves them questioning why someone would harm the petroglyphs. Others who respect the history of petroglyphs and other artifacts are also discouraged by their vandalization. They feel as though such art and history show my appreciated and protected by all so they future generations can learn from and enjoy such artifacts. In addition, the vandalization of the petroglyphs is insulting to people who have committed themselves to the preservation of data and respect for culture. They feel as though their hardwork is not respected. They may also feel disheartened because they go to school to learn how to preserve artifacts and their culture while other people, who have not learned to do so, go and take them with the belief that the know what they are doing or that they are not causing …show more content…
They may also be unaware that it is illegal to pick up artifacts from sites. As seen in the video, many people have traveled to archaeological sites with their families to search for artifacts as a pastime. They view these crimes against archaeology as family events and enjoyment. In this way, some people are raised believing that it is okay to pick up artifacts from site. They do not see the impact that their acts have on the archaeological site. Also, if they are not digging, excavating, or going through the soil, then individuals may believe that they are not damaging