Surviving in the Rainforest:
The Realities of Looting in the Rural Villages of El Petén, Guatemala

The Registration of Archaeological Patrimony

There are mechanisms that can help the "owners" of artifacts protect the cultural patrimony ⁵⁹   and at the same time learn about what they have. IDAEH has a Registration Office ⁶⁰   where "private collections" must be legally registered and where interested people can receive advice about the rights and obligations of a "legal guardian of the cultural patrimony". Since "illicit collections" (that is, "non-registered collections") can result in an accusation of aggravated robbery which is penalized with up to fifteen years in prison in the case of archaeological artifacts, it is necessary for all the people in Guatemala, who have collections, to have them registered legally.

However, individuals assume several obligations that complement their rights, the most important being the prohibition to export or sell the objects. Guatemalan law does not differentiate as to the means of acquisition and penalizes the crime without distinction, even though in several cases the authorities themselves are involved in illegal commercialization and exportation. Perhaps one day, a venue can be found by which all sides can benefit, the scholar as well as the collector.

To conclude this first study, I believe that cultural education, as one of the main tools available to scholars and archaeologists, can in the future decrease the high impact of destruction suffered by the historical remains. Looting cannot be stopped completely because of economic necessity. However, information about objects without provenance, can still be rescued and teaching people why the destruction of these objects may also cause the destruction of their history. If environmental conservationists are making us aware that natural resources are important for human life, then archaeological conservationists should also try to explain the importance of mankind’s life and development through material culture.

Endnotes

59. Cultural Patrimony is defined by Joel Ajxup (pers. com.) as "the group of archaeological, historical, artistic, and paleonthological objects and things that have an exceptional value from the point of view of science and the culture of a Country".

60. "The Registration Office for archaeological, historical, and artistic property, is a public institution that will function as a dependent of the Institute of Anthropology and History of Guatemala. Their obligation is to provide free services to individuals in the identification of the archaeological, historical, and artistic objects they may possess" (Decree 425, Chapter II, Article 10).

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