Founded in 1879, the AIA was chartered by the United States Congress in 1906, in recognition of its role in the development and passage of the Antiquities Act, which Theodore Roosevelt signed into law that year. Today, the AIA remains committed to preserving the world's archaeological resources and cultural heritage for the benefit of people in the present and in the future. See also, AIA Policies and Statements AIA coverage of the activity of the U.S.…
A Summary of Comments Presented at the Public Hearing of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee on May 24, 2016 at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. The Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) of the U.S. Department of State held a public hearing on May 24, 2016 for comments on the requests from Bolivia and Greece to renew their respective bilateral agreements with the U.S. These agreements restrict the flow of undocumented and recently…
On January 15, 2016, the United States and the Government of the Republic of Italy announced that they have extended the bilateral agreement between these two countries in the continued efforts to protect the archaeological heritage of Italy from pillage and illicit trafficking. Consistent with a recommendation made by the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee, the extension recognizes the continued threat to Italy’s archaeological heritage and builds on the United States’ ongoing commitment to cultural…
Earlier this week, the United States and the Government of the Republic of Honduras announced that they have extended the bilateral agreement between these two countries in the continued efforts to protect the archaeological heritage of Honduras from pillage and illicit trafficking. In addition to protecting Honduras’ Pre-Columbian heritage, this new agreement also includes certain ecclesiastical ethnological materials dating to the colonial period on its designated list of protected materials. Effective March 12, 2014, the…
On January 14, 2014, the United States and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria signed a bilateral agreement in an effort to protect the archaeological heritage of Bulgaria. This agreement is intended to reduce the incentive for looting and illicit trafficking of Bulgaria’s cultural objects, including archaeological materials dating from 7500 BC to approximately 1750 AD and categories of ethnological material from 681 AD to 1750 AD. This agreement will be in effect for…
On Monday, the United States and the Government of The People’s Republic of China announced that they have extended the bilateral agreement between these two countries in the continued efforts to protect the archaeological heritage of China. This agreement began in 2009 with the imposition of import restrictions on artifacts from China into the United States in the efforts to help prevent the pillage of China’s rich archaeological heritage, including archaeological material from the Paleolithic…
Thank you to everyone to submitted letters of support for the renewal of the MoU with Honduras! From October 30 to November 1, 2013, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) will meet to discuss the possible renewal of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the U.S. and the Government of the Republic of Honduras by which the United States would help preserve this country’s rich archaeological heritage through import restrictions on Pre-Columbian cultural…
On Monday, the United States and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia announced that they have extended the bilateral agreement between these two countries in the continued efforts to protect the archaeological heritage of Cambodia. This agreement began in 1999 with the emergency imposition of import restrictions on artifacts from Cambodia into the United States in the efforts to help prevent the pillage of Cambodia’s rich archaeological heritage. Effective September 19, 2013, the agreement…
From May 14 to May 17, 2013, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to discuss the possible renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the People’s Republic of China by which the United States would continue to help preserve this country’s rich archaeological heritage through import restrictions on cultural materials and artifacts from China. The looting of sites damages archaeological contexts, hampering archaeologists' study of ancient remains and…
Last week, the United States and the Government of Belize announced that they have signed a bilateral agreement in an effort to protect the archaeological heritage of Belize. This agreement is intended to reduce the incentive for pillage and illicit trafficking in cultural objects, including such items as from the Pre-Ceramic to the Late Colonial Periods (ca. 9000 BC to 1750 AD). Effective February 27, 2013, the agreement will be in effect for a period…
We would like to thank everyone who submitted letters of support for the renewal of this important agreement! From February 27 to March 1, 2013, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to discuss the possible renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, through which the United States would help preserve this country’s rich archaeological heritage. The MoU is a bilateral agreement between the two…
On Friday, the United States and the Government of the Republic of Guatemala announced that they have extended the bilateral agreement between these two countries in the continued efforts to protect the archaeological heritage of Guatemala. This agreement began in 1991 with the emergency imposition of import restrictions on items from Guatemala into the United States in the efforts to help prevent the pillage of Guatemala’s rich archaeological heritage. Effective September 28, 2012, the agreement…
First Person Account of Public Session about Belize By Christina Luke, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Boston University On 16 November I attended and spoke at the public session concerning the initial requests for Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Belize and between the United States and Bulgaria. The requests were submitted under the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA), the implementing legislation in the United States for articles 7b and 9 of the…
Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) to Consider New Bilateral Agreements to Protect Belizean and Bulgarian Archaeological Heritage Thank you to those who demonstrated support for the preservation of Belizean and Bulgarian archaeological heritage by writing a letter to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee urging them to create bilateral agreements with Belize and Bulgaria! The deadline was November 2. On November 15-17, 2011, the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met to consider creating Memoranda of…
Download as PDF Saving Irish Sites! In April 2011, the AIA added two more archaeological sites, both located in Ireland, to the growing list of projects being supported by the Institute’s Site Preservation Program. Money to help save the Irish sites was raised through a special pledge drive held at the AIA Annual Spring Gala. The two sites, the Blackfriary at Trim in County Meath and the Dominican Priory at Tulsk in County Roscommon, are…
On June 27, 2011 after a brief introduction, the Chair, Katharine Reid, opened the Open Session of the Closed Meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee about the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (1989, 2006) with Bolivia about restrictions on the import of historical, ethnographic, and archaeological cultural objects into the United States. A list of speakers was provided and the speakers were given an hour for all the presentations. The first speaker…
Download as PDF Beyond Lectures: AIA Local Societies and Public Outreach Each year the AIA’s National Lecture Program sends nearly 100 archaeologists around the U.S. and Canada to give approximately 300 lectures to over 100 local societies. There was a time when these lectures were the primary (and often only) outreach efforts made by the societies. But that was in the past. Today, societies are organizing everything from archaeology fairs to movie festivals and are…
Read an abbreviated version of this account in the AIA blog. On October 12, 2010, the Cultural Property Advisory Committee of the State Department held a public hearing on Greece's recent request for a bilateral agreement intended to curb the import of undocumented antiquities from the Hellenic Republic into the United States. The U.S. has entered into a number of such agreements (termed Memoranda of Understanding, or MoU for short) since implementing legislation in 1983…
On October 12, 2010, the Cultural Property Advisory Committee of the State Department held a public hearing on Greece's recent request for a bilateral agreement intended to curb the import of undocumented antiquities from the Hellenic Republic into the United States. The U.S. has entered into a number of such agreements (termed Memoranda of Understanding, or MoU for short) since implementing legislation in 1983 reflecting the U.S.’s 1972 ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the…
