I Could Probably Google But…

If a grave or graves were found by accident, then leave them in peace or if necessary relocate them & their property as they had been.

However, looking for the dead intentionally hasn't ever seemed proper to me. It's not right to disturb someone who was buried with whatever they wanted with them only to have it taken away no matter how long ago they died. Take pictures if you want people to see it & put it back where you found it. It's not yours & is it the property of the people (aka government) of the country they were found in.

Just me, however I'd haunt them not only for disturbing me, but stealing from me as well.
 
I looked this up this morning. I think it goes along with my post last night about intent.

Originally Answered: Are archaeologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists technically grave robbers?
Consider an analogy.

Two men, armed with firearms, pull up in front of a bank. One jumps out of the vehicle, walks into the bank, the tellers see he's carrying a gun, and the bank manager hands over a sack of cash. The guy walks out of the bank, where his partner is sitting in the vehicle with the engine running. He jumps in, and the vehicle speeds away.

A second vehicle pulls up, with two men carrying firearms. One goes into the bank, the tellers see the gun, the bank manager hands over a sack full of cash, and the man leaves the bank and gets in the car which his partner has kept running. They speed away.

One of those two “getaway cars" is owned by the Brinks Inc. Security company. The other is a car owned by a notorious bank robber.

Are those two events technically the same?

One is performing a necessary service, after filling out all of the relevant paperwork and registering with the appropriate local, state, and federal authorities. The other is a couple of criminals.

If you conclude that Brinks guards are basically bank robbers, then you can make an arrangement that archaeologists are technically grave robbers.

But if you acknowledge the difference between “legal, permitted, and officially sanctioned actions” on the one hand and “crime" on the other hand, then no, archaeologists are not the same as grave robbers.

Are archeologists technically grave robbers?
Aunt Mavis said:
I’m guessing that the departed would prefer to be left alone regardless of the time passed.
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Does your post mean you are attributing sentient ability to skeletal bones?
 
Knight said:
I looked this up this morning. I think it goes along with my post last night about intent.

Originally Answered: Are archaeologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists technically grave robbers?
Consider an analogy.

Two men, armed with firearms, pull up in front of a bank. One jumps out of the vehicle, walks into the bank, the tellers see he's carrying a gun, and the bank manager hands over a sack of cash. The guy walks out of the bank, where his partner is sitting in the vehicle with the engine running. He jumps in, and the vehicle speeds away.

A second vehicle pulls up, with two men carrying firearms. One goes into the bank, the tellers see the gun, the bank manager hands over a sack full of cash, and the man leaves the bank and gets in the car which his partner has kept running. They speed away.

One of those two “getaway cars" is owned by the Brinks Inc. Security company. The other is a car owned by a notorious bank robber.

Are those two events technically the same?

One is performing a necessary service, after filling out all of the relevant paperwork and registering with the appropriate local, state, and federal authorities. The other is a couple of criminals.

If you conclude that Brinks guards are basically bank robbers, then you can make an arrangement that archaeologists are technically grave robbers.

But if you acknowledge the difference between “legal, permitted, and officially sanctioned actions” on the one hand and “crime" on the other hand, then no, archaeologists are not the same as grave robbers.

Are archeologists technically grave robbers?

Does your post mean you are attributing sentient ability to skeletal bones?
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But there is a third choice.
I can conclude that, because the state had no authority to invalidate the wishes of the deceased, the license to violate the grave is invalid. Therefore archeologists are grave robbers.
Bones may die, but spirits might hang around and haunt as needed.
 
gruntlabor said:
But there is a third choice.
I can conclude that, because the state had no authority to invalidate the wishes of the deceased, the license to violate the grave is invalid. Therefore archeologists are grave robbers.
Bones may die, but spirits might hang around and haunt as needed.
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How do you know what the wishes of the deceased are?

How exactly would spirits haunt?
 
hawkdon said:
Wonder how long before the archy's start digging graves
in USA ???
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They do, but only when they get permission from Native Americans. And now, there are several native American archeologists who are very qualified to do the digging.

But in Salem, New Hampshire, a so-called American Stone Hinge was uncovered, and there's been a lot of other non-Native American digs. I don't know if any of 'em are graves, though.
 
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I find archaeology intriguing but I have mixed feelings on it too. I don't think mummies or human bones need to be displayed publicly. The other artifacts don't bother me but the only human bones I would want to see would be out of the ordinary, like giants or elongated skulls from the distant past.

I think native American bones and artifacts should be returned to their tribes and other American graves should be respected and not just built over, bulldozed or disregarded.

This is part of the reason I have asked to be cremated.
 
gruntlabor said:
But there is a third choice.
I can conclude that, because the state had no authority to invalidate the wishes of the deceased, the license to violate the grave is invalid. Therefore archeologists are grave robbers.
Bones may die, but spirits might hang around and haunt as needed.
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Agreed.
officerripley said:
How can they prefer anything? I mean, they're dead. :unsure:
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Yes, they’re dead.
 

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