Donna Yates to speak at the University of Cambridge

22 Jan 2013

Donna Yates will be presenting a seminar at the McDonald Institute of Archaeology as part of the Cambridge Heritage Research Group Seminar Series on January 30th:

Cultural Property, Andean Church Theft, and Mummies in the Post: Developing Method and Theory to Understand Transnational Heritage Crime

Until quite recently, the study of the looting, theft, and trafficking has been the pet project of a small group of  archaeologists working within the academic framework of their own discipline. We have come a long way but one must question if this approach provides the needed information to effectively control this type of crime. The  multidisciplinary Trafficking Culture project at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research is trying something a bit different: research into the illicit trafficking of cultural property through criminological theory and sociological methods.

In this talk I will discuss my preliminary research into the theft, looting and trafficking of Colonial-era ecclesiastical objects and pre-Conquest mummies in the Andes. I will describe this type of crime, discuss the practical and legal issues involved, and highlight the types of intervention points that can be identified by looking at the issue through a criminological lens.

The seminar will take place in the McDonald Institute of Archaeology Seminar Room, Downing Site, Cambridge from 16:30 until 18:00. All welcome to attend.

Please visit http://www.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk/events/hrg/ for more information.