Trafficking Culture

Trafficking Culture is a research consortium that produces evidence-based research into the contemporary global trade in looted cultural objects.
Our researchers, based at Maastricht University, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, and University of Glasgow, combine criminological and archaeological expertise. Our work is geographically diverse and interdisciplinary.
By conducting innovative quantitative and qualitative research we have established a body of reliable evidence that supports the formulation of effective cultural heritage protection policy. We are committed to raising awareness about these issues through social media, on-line education, and professional training.
Our book is available now: Trafficking Culture: New Directions in Researching the Global Market in Illicit Antiquities
Recent News

Donna Yates in New York Times
10 Jan 2023
Donna Yates was featured in the New York Times article “For U.S. Museums With Looted Art, the...

New book edited by Naomi Oosterman and Donna Yates out now!
12 Dec 2022
New book titled Art Crime in Context edited by Naomi Oosterman and Donna Yates is out...

Yates will participate in lecture series organised by kgi
06 Oct 2022
Dr Donna Yates was participate in public lecture series “RES(T)ITUIEREN: Provenienz,...
Site Updates
Money Laundering and Antiquities
Recent amendments to anti-money-laundering regulations in Europe and the United States have...
Review of: Stephen Houston (ed.), A Maya Universe in Stone
Excerpt: (…) A Maya Universe in Stone, edited by Stephen Houston, is a welcome addition to a...
Creative compliance, neutralization techniques, and palaeontological ethics
This paper uses the sociological and criminological concepts of creative compliance and...