Our Past for Public Auction
(Northern Arizona University)
The Internet, as we all well know, has opened up a plethora of avenues for users in terms of learning, communication, and consumerism. In terms of the latter, it has enabled consumers to bid on and purchase items which they previously might not have considered buying. One category of such items is ancient and vintage artifacts. The fact that anyone with the money or inclination can now get on line and purchase Inuit carvings, Clovis projectile points, early Aboriginal Australian atlatls, Chinese jade carvings from the Shang Dynasty and before, temple treasures from Southeast Asia, etc., etc., etc. is remarkable. But, is it beneficial for anthropologists and archaeologists and the store of human knowledge? This paper examines, from an anthropological point of view, the potential pros and cons of making ancient artifacts widely available to the general public.