Archaeological relics slipping out of Jamaica

No laws to stop it, says Heritage Trust

BY RHOMA TOMLINSON Sunday Observer writer editorial@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, November 21, 2010

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Valuable artefacts, which could help local archaeologists piece together more of Jamaica's past, are disappearing through the island's airports and for now, nothing is being done to stop it. That's the concern being raised by officials of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) and the Archaeological Society of Jamaica.

Attorney-at-law for the Trust, Lisa Grant, told the Sunday Observer earlier this year, that persons who did not understand the value of some of the artefacts in their possession, were sending them off to relatives and friends abroad, possibly as gifts, and there was no law on local books that could turn these items back at Customs. Grant, who was speaking in Mandeville following a JNHT programme to sensitise Jamaicans about proposed changes to the JNHT Act, said while she did not have information about the numbers, the organisation was concerned that several valuable items had left the island via this route.

When the Sunday Observer caught up with Chief Technical Director of Archaeology with the Trust, Dorrick Grey recently, he confirmed that the Trust had received reports of especially Taino artefacts being taken out of the country, but could not say how many pieces had left the island in recent times. "These artefacts are non-renewable, meaning, if they go, they cannot be replaced. They're lost forever," he said. He admitted that there was no law on local books to stop persons doing as they pleased with these relics, but said the Trust was in talks with the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) to work out a strategy.

He said the organisation's move is being hampered by government's failure to sign a 1972 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Convention prohibiting the illicit trade of antiquities. This would give the Trust the power to declare movable artefacts. "If we can declare movable artefacts, we can give them unique numbers and IDs. If we sign this convention, it means we're automatically linked to INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organisation), they can circulate it worldwide... the more we mark time, the more a lot of our heritage will be lost," he told the Sunday Observer.

While Grey would not say what had kept successive governments from ratifying the convention, he said the issue of holding on to movable antiquities was "a sensitive matter". "In Jamaica, we have several private people who own artefacts... we don't believe that legislation alone is the way to go... so consultations are ongoing with them to see how we can keep the artefacts here. We'd want to know what it is they have, we'd want to have pictures and we wouldn't want them to leave the country," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Archaeological Society of Jamaica Ivor Conolley said his organisation also shared the JNHT's concern, but could do nothing about it, as they were not a regulatory body. "It's their (JNHT) responsibility to make sure that these things do not leave, they are the regulatory body. We are not regulators. But we are aware of this concern," Conolley told the Sunday Observer in a recent interview.

He said while regulations should be drafted, he believes the way to go is to heighten awareness of the importance of these artefacts so that Jamaicans will not treat them with scant regard. "There are persons out there, in the farms, etc, who're digging up artefacts, they don't know what they are. They just think these are things that are bothering their crops, so they just throw them away. If they understood that this was a part of their heritage, then they would say, 'wow'," Conolley said.

As the organisation deals with digging and helping to preserve archaeological findings, the Archaeological Society will be kicking off a massive public education programme come April 2011, he noted "We're training about 20 people, all graduates in archaeology, to go into the parishes and talk to schools and community groups... this is where it has to start, if people see the need to preserve their heritage, they will," Conolley said.

The Tainos, generally referred to as Arawaks, are recognised as the earliest recorded inhabitants of Jamaica.

"Sometimes we don't think of the Tainos as our ancestors, we have their blood running in our veins, what they did, how they lived, is relevant to us. We need to understand more about their work, for the sake of continuity," he said.

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Archaeological relics slipping out of Jamaica