Adrienne-

While there are certainly ethical and legal issues involved in collecting
precolumbian objects, it is not illegal, per se, to own such material in
the US. The legality of owning any specific pc object would depend on how
and when the object was originally collected and whether it was legally
imported into the US.  Remember, however, just because something is legal
to do doesn't mean it is ethical to do.  Most archaeologists deplore the
collecting of any kind of antiquities, even if legal, as the legal market
in antiquities tends to drive the illegal looting of sites and the under-
ground black market in antiquities.

Following are a few books you might find informative.

Greenfield, Jeanette.  The Return of Cultural Treasures.  2d ed.  Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Messenger, Phyllis Mauch (editor).  The Ethics of Collecting Cultural
Property:  Whose Culture? Whose Property?  Albuquerque:  University of New
Mexico Press, 1989.

Meyer, Karl E.  The Plundered Past.  New York:  Atheneum, 1973.

With best wishes,

Mike
----------------------
Mike Jacobs * Arizona State Museum * University of Arizona * Tucson, AZ 85721
  tel: (520) 621-6312 * fax: (520) 621-2976 * email: [log in to unmask]