MANS HISTORY HAS ALWAYS LED TO ENCOUNTERES BETWEEN DIFFERENT CULTURES. OFTEN THIS CAUSES DRASTIC CHANGES IN ONE OR BOTH CULTURES. IN MANY OCEANIC CULTURES THE STEEL WEAPON AND GUN REPLACED CLUBS AND SPEARS AND MISSONARIES TAUGHT AGAINST THE OLD WAYS AND WEAPONS AND RITUALS WERE LOST. WHO KNOWS HOW MANY OLD WAR CLUBS, SPEARS AND SUCH EITHER ROTTED IN A SHED OR BURNED OR WERE THROWN ON THE GARBAGE HEAP.
I THINK THE MOVEMENT OF THESE OBJECTS BETWEEN CULTURES AND COUNTRIES ENRICHES AND ENCOURAGES INTREST AND LEARNING. ITS KIND OF A TYPE OF CROSS POLLINATION OF CULTURES AND BELIEFS.
SO I VOTE THAT OFTEN THESE PEOPLE WHO CARRIED OFF ARTEFACTS AND CARED FOR THEM OR DONATED THEM TO MUSEUMS, DID GOOD AS THEY PRESERVED THINGS THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE BEEN LOST. THOSE WHO STUDIED AND WROTE DOWN THE CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE AS WELL AS COLLECTED ARTEFACTS AND DREW SKETCHES WERE THE MOST VALUABLE AS OTHERWISE ALL MAY HAVE BEEN LOST AS THE CULTURE CHANGED OVER TIME. PEOPLE HAVE A WAY OF WANTING THE NEW AND DISCARDING THE OLD IF THEY CAN AFFORD IT. AT LEAST THAT WAS THE WAY OF IT WHEN I GREW UP. I GUESS THE WORD ANTIQUE HAD NOT BEEN IN WIDE USE TO ENABLE SELLERS TO SELL OLD USED STUFF.
IF I REMEMBER THE STORY CORRECTLY THE ACROPOLIS WAS OCCUPIED BY AN INVADING ARMY WHO WAS TEARING IT UP AND USING THE FIGURES FOR TARGET PRACTICE. THE ENGLISHMAN GOT PERMISSION AND NO DOUBT PAYED TO TAKE SOME OF THE BEST CARVINGS. WHICH WERE SUBSEQUENTLY LOST AT SEA. WOULD ALL THE MARBLES BEEN BLASTED TO BITS LIKE THE SPHINX LOST ITS NOSE IN EGYPT IF HE HAD NOT TAKEN THEM??? WHO KNOWS!! BUT THEY HAVE SURVIVED WHO GETS THEM NOW IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN THE FACT THAT THEY STILL EXHIST.
I THINK ITS BETTER TO HAVE ITEMS FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES SPREAD OVER THE WORLD THAN FOR ALL ARTEFACTS TO STAY ONLY IN THE COUNTRY OR TRIBE FOREVER. THERE IS MUCH TO BE LEARNED FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES AND OFTEN SOMEONE FROM OUTSIDE THE CULTURE CAN DO VALUABLE WORK THAT THE CULTURE MAY NOT DO ITSELF. IF AN ITEM IS STOLEN OR LOOTED THEN IT SHOULD BE RETURNED BUT IF IT IS SOLD BY ITS OWNER TO HELP HIS FAMILY THATS OK.
IN WAR WARRIORS HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN THE DISCARDED WEAPONS AND SOUVINEERS FROM THOSE WHO HAVE FLED OR WERE VANQUISHED, ITS TRADITION. WAR IS NOT A GOOD THING BUT WILL MOST LIKELY ALWAYS BE A CURSE ON ALL MANKIND. THE RULES OF WAR HAVE CHANGED A LITTLE THE PURPOSE IS NO LONGER TO COLLECT HEADS, SCALPS, SLAVES OR BODIES FOR A FEAST. TODAY THEY ARE FOUGHT OVER WEALTH, FOOD, LAND AND OLD TRADITIONAL FUEDS OFTEN GOING BACK FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. SOME FIGHT TO SURVIVE AND SOME MAKE WAR TO ENFORCE THEIR BELIEFS OR CONQUER AND ENSLAVE AND LOOT THEIR NEGHBORS.
THE LITTLE WE DO IN COLLECTING, PRESERVING AND LEARNING ABOUT THE ITEMS AND THE CULTURES AND THE HISTORY. DOES MUCH MORE GOOD THAN HARM THOUGH FEW WILL APPRECIATE WHY WE DO IT AND MANY FIND US CRAZY NO DOUBT.
