Artifact Repatriation

从 1969 年到 1981 年，美国国家科学基金会向安东尼·马克斯 (Anthony Marks) 博士提供了七笔资助，用于在以色列中部内盖夫沙漠进行考古研究。一些重要的露天遗址被发掘，结果以多卷系列的形式发表。这些遗址很重要，因为它们记录了导致解剖学上现代人类出现和一系列现代基本行为出现的过渡时期。按照当时公认的标准，这些藏品被分配给耶路撒冷的以色列古物管理局和马克斯博士的母校南卫理公会大学 (SMU)。这种做法不再被遵循，因为它给希望研究整个馆藏的研究人员带来了困难。马克斯博士现已从新加坡管理大学退休，该机构不再希望保留他或其他人的旧世界考古收藏。在 NSF 的支持下，Marks 博士和一名学生将对 SMU 材料进行系统化和包装，以便运送到以色列古物管理局，后者将重新整合藏品并支付实际运输费用。该项目意义重大，因为它将使重要的考古藏品完全用于科学研究。

From 1969 through 1981 the National Science foundation awarded seven grants to Dr. Anthony Marks to conduct archaeological research in the Israeli Central Negev Desert. A number of important open air sites were excavated and the results published in a multi-volume series. The sites are important because they document the transitional period which led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans and the appearance of a modern range of fundamental behaviors. Following accepted standards of the time, the collections were divided between the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem and Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dr. Marks' home institution. Such a practice is no longer followed because of the difficulty it imposes on researchers who wish to study an entire collection. Dr. Marks is now retiring from SMU and the institution no longer wishes to maintain either his or others' Old World archaeological collections. With NSF support, Dr. Marks and a student will systematize and pack the SMU material for shipping to the Israel Antiquities Authority which will reintegrate the collections and pay the actual transport costs.This project is significant because it will make an important archaeological collection available in its entirely for scientific study.