eBay actually good for archeology

Post #308,336 by jay 5/6/09 10:22:39 AM Reply	eBay actually good for archeology http://arstechnica.c...uities-market.ars By any reasonable analysis, eBay should have been a nightmare for archaeologists, allowing looted goods a new outlet, one that eliminated any cloak-and-dagger aspects of the illicit trade in antiquities by allowing the trade to flourish in plain sight, hidden by the anonymity of users' accounts and the sheer volume of goods changing hands. But, according to at least one archaeologist who specializes in the civilizations of pre-Columbian South America, that hasn't been the case at all. Instead, by swamping the market with fakes, eBay has made forgery a far more lucrative business, and destroyed the economics of looting. Amusing economic effect. eBay has created such a market for fakes that it is pushing the real looters out of the business. The looters can't charge any more then the fakers, and being a fraud is easier and safer. Jay
Post #308,343 by Andrew Grygus 5/6/09 11:31:07 AM Reply	Yeah, archaeologists were pretty panicky . . . . . but then they're not business economists (but nor are most making their living as such). The nasty trials in Israel are showing just how difficult it is for even modern science to detect a fake or prove authenticity - but modern science is very good a generating fakes. On another archaeology subject, my non-serious letter was published by Biblical Archaeology Review. Scantily clad maidens on the front cover again! Don't you remember last time? Young ladies on desert digs should wear parkas and stay out of camera range. Or do you just like to tease the decency patrol.
Post #308,369 by static 5/6/09 9:29:07 PM Reply	You read BAR? I'm not sure I should be surprised or horrified... :-P Wade, who has exactly one copy, somewhere, bought years ago. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #308,372 by Andrew Grygus 5/6/09 11:32:34 PM Reply	It is a very fun magazine. Open academic warfare in the articles - all kinds of warfare in the letters column. Angry Christians canceling their subscriptions in almost every issue. And poor old Herschel Shanks still grasping at straws for some actual archaeological evidence that Jesus (the Christ) actually lived. I wouldn't miss it for anything. PS: BAR's scope has widened a bit since it absorbed the publishers general archaeology magazine - but still sticks pretty much to the extent of the Roman Empire.

Welcome to IWETHEY!