This book is the second in the series of cultural heritage studies initiated by the University Press of Florida with Paul Shackel of the University of Maryland as the series editor. The series explores the uses of heritage and the meaning of its cultural forms as a way to interpret the present and the past. The first title in the series is Heritage of Value, Archaeology of Renown: Reshaping Archaeological Assessment and Significance (2005). Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and the Antiquities Trade enumerates the ways that commodifying artifacts fuels the destruction of archaeological heritage and considers what can be done to protect it. The title of the book is apt. Archaeology is the bedrock of material cultural heritage, and it is illegal archaeology by looters or subsistence diggers that fuels the burgeoning trade in illicitly excavated artifacts.

The book demonstrates that the war on cultural heritage is alive; and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, and the looting that occurred after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime are distressing confirmation of this intolerable phenomenon. The various chapters offer comprehensive examinations of archaeological site looting, the antiquities trade, the ruin of cultural heritage resources, and the international efforts to combat their destruction. The chapters also deal with the impacts of war, political agendas, and tourist development on cultural heritage as well as the effectiveness of legislation in thwarting pillage and the illicit traffic in archaeological artifacts.

Dealing with the protection of cultural heritage during conflict, the opening chapter by Lyndel Prott is a somewhat gloomy assessment in spite of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and its two protocols. The conflicts in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq present grim pictures of wanton destruction of cultural property in armed conflicts. She notes that at the time she wrote, although the 1972 World Heritage Convention had 182 states parties out of the 192 states constituting the international community, only 114 of them are parties to the Hague convention. She attributes the nonmembership of 64 states to their unwillingness to undertake the more demanding obligations of the Hague convention.

The chapters by Patty Gerstenblith and Marina Papa Sokal highlight the American legal response to the protection of the cultural heritage. Professor Gerstenblith inevitably discusses the United States v. Schultz case and concludes that its significance is that those who deal in antiquities now have clear warning of the government's intent to use the United States v. McClain/United States v. Schultz doctrine as a method of enforcement and that it may be used in civil replevin actions for the purpose of recovery and restitution of looted archaeological objects as well as criminal prosecution. It is gratifying that, given the pivotal position of the United States as a destination market for looted artifacts, both the government and the courts of the United States have taken this firm stand against the illicit traffic in archaeological objects. And that is in spite of the machinations of dealers, private collectors, and some influential museums and their directors who want the government to show a benign disposition toward trade in undocumented antiquities, as Sokal's contribution reveals.

Colin Renfrew's trenchant criticism of museums in his chapter pinpoints the responsibilities of museums for the illicit traffic in antiquities. He asserts rightly that the looters are financed, whether before or after the event, by collectors but that the climate of opinion is to a large extent set by museum curators. It is the content of public exhibitions that establishes the conventions in this matter, and it is the acquisition of museums, as often by gift or bequest as by purchase, that sets the tone. What is shown in a major museum on temporary loan is as relevant as the permanent acquisition. Regrettably, very few museums exercise the same degree of due diligence in this area as they do for permanent acquisitions. He maintains, and this is indisputable, that “reputation laundering by public exhibition” is the up-market version of money laundering in the traffic of drugs (245). This is a harsh conclusion, but it is merited given the incalculable destructive damage being done to cultural heritage because of the depredations of looters. It is surely fair to say that there would be no looters if there were no buyers. Renfrew notes with satisfaction the early lead example of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology as far back as 1970, which prevents the acquisition of recently looted cultural objects. The British Museum stated a similar policy in 1998; that the trustees only acquire objects that have documentation to show that they were exported from their country of origin prior to 1970. From these honorable examples, Renfrew urges and argues that the only ethical position for museums to follow now is: no documentation, no acquisition. When the ravages detailed in the various case studies are recalled, from the plunder of Ulla Valley in Honduras (Chapter 7), to the looting of Lydia in western Turkey (Chapter 8), to the devastation of the cultural heritage of Iraq and Afghanistan (Chapters 10 and 11), it is beyond peradventure that no documentation, no acquisition is the only truly viable policy for not only museums but also for collectors and dealers to adopt.

In many respects this is a depressing book detailing as it does the maneuverings of dealers, collectors, and even directors of museums in the shady trade in unprovenanced antiquities. Some appear to be comfortable in the not-too-transparent tradition of the art trade. Because the law in western countries condones this, antiquities dealers are not particularly open about their business. This is what fuels the burgeoning trade in antiquities and nurtures the global crisis. However, there is some evidence that the concerns of archaeologists, art historians, cultural heritage lawyers, and cultural heritage managers are beginning to bear some limited results. One obvious example, as Kathryn Walker Tubb points out in her chapter, is the renewed interest in the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which has recently attracted signatories from among the art importing and trading nations, such as France, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The persistent outcry against the massive damage that the illicit trade in cultural objects is inflicting on our shared common heritage is slowly making an impact. But as she points out, the arrival of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects forced the dealers in these countries to be quiescent when their countries decided to join the convention. They realized that doing nothing was no longer an option, and they had to acquiesce in the ratification of the UNESCO convention as the lesser of two evils.

The book takes its stand firmly on the side of those who argue that museums must adopt ethical acquisition policies and should also establish clear due-diligence procedures that should be followed before acquiring cultural objects.

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