These activities contribute to the looting of archaeological sites and the consequent destruction of archaeological context and historical and archaeological knowledge. They also deprive local communities of vital components for their own construction of identity and their own production and reproduction of social life. 

We believe that archaeological artifacts constitute a shared material memory of human communities and should not be subjected to commercialization and the rules of the market. Where appropriate, they should be held in common, in public and openly accessible institutions, and be readily available for study, display, and various attempts at public interpretation and discussion, in collaboration with community partners.