In Greece, Costas Carras, founder of the Hellenic Society for the Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage, has been accused of owning illegal artifacts. “It is ludicrous that authorities should attack the one person who has spent a lifetime preserving the items and ideas that the authorities themselves are supposed to protect,” said former politician Stefanos Manos.

Buddhist oil paintings within caves in Afghanistan have been found to be the hundreds of years older than European oil paintings. “This is the earliest clear example of oil paintings in the world, although drying oils were already used by ancient Romans and Egyptians, but only as medicines and cosmetics,” said researcher Yoko Taniguchi.  

After ten years of excavation, archaeologist Klaus Schmidt of the German Archaeological Institute and others are still unsure of the significance of Gobekli Tepi’s stone circles. “In my opinion, the people who carved them were asking themselves the biggest questions of all. What is this universe? Why are we here?” he mused.  

Museums across the United States are repatriating human remains, artifacts, and art. This article discusses how the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the international crackdown on the illegal antiquities trade, have impacted universities and museums in Ohio.  

Two coffin burials turned up on Greenwood Island, Mississippi, where Mexican War and Confederate soldiers were once interred.  

Regular readers of ARCHAEOLOGY won’t find anything new in National Pubic Radio’s examination of Indiana Jones, but the piece has its moments: “He’s definitely a stud–with tenure,” quips reporter Christopher Joyce.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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