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Stolen Artifacts in Iraq (April 18, 2003, One)

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Program Summary

A curator wept as she walked from room to room in the National Museum of Antiquities, surveying the extensive damage done by looters after the fall of Baghdad. Thousands of priceless, irreplaceable artifacts of Mesopotamian cultures were destroyed or stolen, most of which will probably never be recovered. Many of the items are well-known, meaning that they can never be sold on the open market, although there already exists a black market among wealthy collectors who would ask no questions about how the pieces were obtained.

There is a great deal of suspicion that the looting was not done entirely by rioters, but that professional thieves used the riot as a cover to pull off a well-planned robbery. Artifacts were taken from intact, unlocked display cases, indicating that the culprits had keys. Other pieces were carefully removed from cases that had been opened with glass cutters rather than being smashed.

The United States military is being criticized for not adequately protecting the museum. Anthropologists and archaeologists had warned Pentagon officials that looting could occur, as it had in provincial museums during the 1991 Gulf War. They said they had received assurances that museums and archaeological sites throughout Iraq would be closely guarded.

Iraq is the location of the “Land Between Two Rivers,” the delta between the Euphrates and the Tigris, which is considered the cradle of civilization. Its fertile soil supported some of the most sophisticated cultures of the ancient world—Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian. The National Museum had one of the finest collections in the world, with many one-of-a-kind artifacts and thousands of cuneiform tablets (cuneiform is regarded as the world’s first known system of writing.) The Iraqi borders are being guarded as closely as possible, and appeals are being made to looters to return their heritage to the museum. Pieces are slowly trickling back to the museum, but it is doubtful that any of the best objects will ever be seen again.

Guests

Elizabeth Stone, professor of anthropology at State University of New York, Stony Brook
Tony Wilkinson, associate professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Chicago

Related Links and Resources

Christian Science Monitor, April 14, 2003: “Looters Plunder in Minutes Iraq's Millennia-old Legacy”
NewYorkTimes.com, April 16, 2003: “Curators Appeal for a Ban on Purchase of Iraqi Artifacts”
UNESCO.org: UNESCO and Iraq

For Discussion:

• Why do you think Iraqis stole or destroyed the priceless pieces of their history?
• What is “provenance”?
• Do artifacts and artworks that represent a country’s history and culture belong to the people of that country or to the people of the world?
• Many countries want pieces returned that were taken many, even hundreds, of years ago, such as Greek statues and Native American artifacts. Do you think everything should be returned to the country it came from?
• What did Mesopotamian civilizations contribute to science and technology?
• What modern technologies are used to determine if an artwork is genuine or fake?

Activities

Black and white and read all over. Newspapers in Education (NIE): Conflict and Culture in the Cradle of Civilization discusses the looting of the National Museum and its ramifications. It links students to a very good chapter on Mesopotamia at Washington State University’s World Civilizations Web site, which provides a good summary of the history of Mesopotamian cultures. Some of the language may be a bit advanced for middle schoolers. Achievements in science and mathematics are briefly reviewed; students can continue researching these achievements and compare them to advances made by other civilizations such as Greek, Roman, Native American, and more. Returning to the NIE page, students are taken on a tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern Art galleries.

Respect your elders. Ancient Mesopotamia, a lesson plan developed by a Pennsylvania junior high teacher, skims the surface of each subject, but it is easily understood and has activities, quizzes, and vocabulary. Some of the scientific contributions of the Mesopotamians were the water clock, the sailboat, the wheel, the plow, the lunar calendar and zodiac, the beginnings of abstract mathematics, and the concept of longitude and latitude. Have students choose an invention to research and to construct a model.

Is that a fact? Factmonster.com’s Plundering the Past is an excellent series for kids about looted and stolen art and artifacts, including events of the 1991 Gulf War.

Crime doesn’t pay. Art Attack at whyfiles.org contains a thorough treatment of art forgery and other crimes and explains how modern scientific methods are used to solve crimes both new and old. In Mystery of the Stolen Artifacts (Genetics Science Learning Center), students review plant DNA evidence to track down a thief suspected of stealing an ancient Native American pot. The suspect is then tried. Have students role-play using the script provided. They can select a jury to vote on the guilt or innocence of the suspect.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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