Hot this week: Colombian returns and Colombian busts.
Culture crime news 21–27 July 2014
Posted on 28 July 2014
Hot this week: Corruption! Antiquities police officer in Greece arrested and 2 heritage officials convicted in Macedonia for antiquities trafficking crimes.
Dance of the Maize God: a beautiful film about the pillaging of the Maya past
Posted on 24 July 2014
Out of the looters trench and on to the computer in less than an hour: a film review from Belize.
“This is my livelihood”: Maya Mountains cave story
Posted on 21 July 2014
This story comes from a Belizean hostel shareholder who lives along the Hummingbird Highway surrounded by cave-filled mountains.
Culture crime news 14–20 July 2014
Posted on 21 July 2014
Hot this week: Hard to tell from Belize. A truncated try at a newsletter from the field.
“They will be looking for it!”: Little boy’s story
Posted on 17 July 2014
After chatting to some kids about how fast ice melts and the proper way to not be eaten by bears or wolves, a little boy told me this story.
“It’s sad because something beautiful was destroyed”: Bus stop story
Posted on 16 July 2014
I heard this while waiting for a bus on the Western Highway. I let two buses pass talking to this guy.
Culture crime news 07–13 July 2014
Posted on 14 July 2014
Hot this week: Iraq…and Iraq again. Don’t believe all the news you read, but do be worried.
Hollywood’s ancient Maya: illegal movie footage as trafficked cultural property?
Posted on 13 July 2014
Illegal filming at Mexican archaeological sites carries stiff penalties, as some filmmakers may soon find out.
What we’ve lost: 2 stories of the Maya Buenavista vase
Posted on 12 July 2014
In this post I will present two stories about one Maya vase: what we would have thought if the vase was looted and what we know because it wasn’t.
Lost cities and looted tombs: Studying artifact smuggling in Belize
Posted on 11 July 2014
This year I am in the Central American jungle conducting fieldwork on artifact smuggling in Belize.
Culture crime news 30 June–06 July 2014
Posted on 7 July 2014
Hot this week: After over 40 years, and after some surprising plot twists, the Motunui panels returned to New Zealand.