In lawsuits pending in federal courts in Boston and Chicago, Americans harmed by terrorist attacks linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran are asserting claim to artifacts they believe belong to that nation, in their quest to win more than $4-billion in damages. The institutions that hold the artifacts, which include Harvard University and the…

In early 1916, the legendary Yale University archaeologist Hiram Bingham III completed his third and final expedition in southern Peru. He shipped home 74 boxes of artifacts from Machu Picchu, a spectacular site in the Andes that is believed to have been the last major settlement of the Inca empire. Those boxes were supposed to be on temporary…

Increasingly over the 20th century, nations, many of them newly formed as the result of the dissolution of empires, instituted those kinds of cultural-property laws and signed bilateral treaties and international conventions as means of strengthening them. Still the looting of archaeological sites continues. Iraq is but one example. Wherever…

Israeli, Palestinian, and American archaeologists unveiled a draft agreement on archaeological and cultural heritage that they hope to see included in a future Middle East peace agreement. Presenting their proposal to an audience of archaeologists at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, they said it was the first time that Israelis and Palestinians…

According to Israeli archaeologist Yonathan Mizrachi, archaeology has become a weapon of dispossession. He was referring to the way archaeology is being used in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood in the oldest part of Jerusalem, where, archaeological digs are being carried out as part of a concerted campaign to expel Palestinians from their…

Several artifacts found at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, or Daughters of Jacob Bridge, archaeological site in Israel provide a picture of ancient human ancestors that is different from the once accepted by most scholars. The discoveries by Israeli archaeologist Naama Goren-Inbar suggest that humans developed language and other key abilities far…

In this article, the author describes Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities in Bogliasco, Italy, which offers a stately perch from which a few lucky scholars and artists can gaze at the Mediterranean and gather their thoughts making it so conducive to the study of arts and letters. The center provides scholars and artists midcareer and…

Describes how students flock to the classics department at Macalester College in Minnesota, drawn by archaeological projects and a new approach to studying antiquity. (EV)

Project Emperor-I has issued two interactive videodiscs on China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di. The videodiscs contain film footage from the archaeological excavation in China, images of artifacts, interviews with Qin specialists, and the full text of articles about the ancient burial site. Development of the videodiscs for scholars involved…

A conference that brought together archaeologists, museum professionals, and indigenous groups from around the world to discuss the reburial issue is discussed. Participants said the issue is as much about wresting control of the past as it is about limiting scientific research in the interests of spiritual values. (MLW)