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]