Susan,

As a trained archaeologist and long time museum director with a strong
sense of personal commitment to preservation of cultural heritage, I
have wrestled with this question several times in the past. It is never
a black and white decision.

I believe that part of a history or natural history museum's most basic
mission should be to preserve cultural materials for educational and
scientific purposes. And we must never aid, abet, or appear to sanction
illegal collecting.  The first museum should not have purchased the
collection, but that's bygones. The important thing now is what is most
ethical in the immediate situation.

These materials, however collected, are out of the ground and the damage
is done to their potential for scientific knowledge requiring
provenience, but there is still remaining scientific value (as well as
educational value) which should not be thrown away.

I think clear title may not be a problem since the first museum did
purchase it. Also, it sounds as though it may have been collected prior
to laws prohibiting such collecting, though I don't know about Georgia
State laws in this regard for state or private land, but it is possible
that these may not have been collected illegally, just unethically.

So the ethics of the question at this point really is, which is the
greater wrong.... to accept the collection, knowing the shaky origins,
and use it to maximize the value that clearly is in it, or to let it be
sold, donated out of state, or otherwise revert out of the public arena
to which it is most pertinent?

I would argue that accepting it has the higher potential for enhancing
cultural heritage knowledge. *However* the original collector's name
should never be associated with it in any way that would provide him
glory, and no reference should be made publicly about dollar value or
about his having sold the collection to the first museum. Kindling
visions of money or glory do aid and abet illegal collecting, and doing
these things does appear to sanction it.

I actually think this case is a step beyond the basic (and correct)
ethics of not accepting something illegally collected. You are not
proposing to acquire a collection from a donor, but to save a collection
from likely oblivion. It really seems to me that the ethical
responsibility at this point is to not squander the value to cultural
heritage knowledge that remains in the collection.

I expect my ideas will bring our some vehement differences of opinion,
but it will be worth it to have the dialog.

Lucy Sperlin
Chico, CA


susan fishman-armstrong wrote:
>
> Hello all!
>
> I have been asked to prepare a recommendation for my director
> concerning the ethical pros and cons for acquiring a certain
> collection.
>
> Let me start by giving some background.  Another museum in our state
> has lost significant storage space and is unable to care for a large
> archeological collection that it purchased over 10 years ago.  They
> have asked us if we would like to acquire this collection.  They would
> donate it to us.  After reviewing the collection, it does meet our
> mission, it is in good shape, and we do have plenty of storage space
> to house it.
>
> There is an ethical and legal issue, however.  The individual that
> they purchased the collection from was a pot-hunter (putting it
> delicately) who collected during the 1950s.  I am concerned about
> ownership, because no one can guarantee that he always collected
> with permits/permission.  He is no longer alive, so we can't ask him
> questions about the collection.
>
> Here is my problem.  On one hand, we do not want to accept this
> collection, because we do not want to acquire anything that the title
> of ownership is not clear.  We also do not want to accept it because
> we do not want to portray an image to the community that we approve of
> commercial collecting.  On the other hand, this collection is
> scientifically important.  It was collected over 50 years ago and many
> of the sites are now extinct.  We would like to see it remain in our
> state, because of the significant cultural heritage it holds (for our
> state).  The other museum does not have the capabilities to care for
> this collection any longer and we are the only institution that is
> able to accept it in our state.
>
> So...  I would like to ask if anyone has had to deal with this sort of
> a problem.  If we did accept the collection, what suggestions do you
> have that we could do to protect ourselves?  Are there other arguments
> that you can suggest that we consider?  Contact me on or off-list.
>
> Thanks,
> Susan
>
> [log in to unmask]
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