Evolution And History

Cities and Cultural Change 265

Globalscape

Iraqi Artifacts in New York City?

A clandestine operation carried out

by the U.S. government led to the

recovery in New York City of a price-

less (though headless) 4,400-year-

old stone statue of the Sumerian

King Entemena of Lagash. The statue

will be returned to its rightful place

in the center of the Sumerian Hall

of the Iraqi National Museum in

Baghdad.

The modern-day state of Iraq,

located in an area known as the

cradle of civilization, is home to

10,000 archaeological sites preserv-

ing evidence of the earliest cities,

laws, and civilizations. Though many

Mesopotamian artifacts were brought

to museums in Europe and the

United States in the 19th and early

20th centuries, the Iraqi National

Museum in Baghdad still housed an

extraordinary collection of priceless

artifacts. That was the case until the

weeks following the U.S. invasion in

2003, when several waves of looters

removed tens of thousands of arti-

facts. According to Matthew Bogda-

nos, the Marine colonel who led the

task force to track down and recover

these artifacts, “The list of missing

objects read like a ‘who’s who’ of

Near Eastern archaeology.” Ironi-

cally, looting during the first Gulf War

had led local archaeologists to move

artifacts from regional museums to

the National Museum of Baghdad for

safekeeping.

This statue, like many other sto-

len artifacts, was first taken across

the border into Syria and then made

its way into the international black

market in antiquities. Many artifacts

have been returned to the museum

through a no-questions-asked amnesty

program. Others have required a com-

bination of international cooperation

and investigation, along with raids

and seizures once artifacts have been

tracked down.

Global Twister If artifacts from

ancient civilizations from throughout

the world represent our shared global

heritage, how can such treasures be

kept safe from the chaos and despera-

tion that result from war?

FPO

AFRICA

AUSTRALIA

ANTARCTICA

EUROPE

SOUTH

AMERICA

NORTH

AMERICA

Atlantic

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Indian

Ocean

Arctic

Ocean

ASIA

Baghdad, IRAQ

New York, NY

© Angel Franco/The New York Times © AFP/Getty Images

saw to it that different interest groups, such as farmers or
craft specialists, provided their respective services and did
not infringe on one another.
Just as they do today, governments of the past ensured
that cities were safe from their enemies by constructing
fortifications and raising an army. They levied taxes and
appointed tax collectors so that construction workers,
the army, and other public expenses could be paid. They
saw to it that merchants, carpenters, or farmers who

made legal claims received justice according to standards

of the legal system. They guaranteed safety for the lives

and property of ordinary people and assured them that

any harm done to one person by another would be justly

handled. In addition, surplus food had to be stored for

times of scarcity, and public works such as extensive ir-

rigation systems or fortifications had to be supervised by

competent, fair individuals. The mechanisms of govern-

ment served all these functions.