On Proprietary Rights in Archaeology: Some Unresolved Issues.

The article examines the general question of proprietary rights in archeology and the duty of archaeologists working abroad to be sensible to the political conditions in which their work is conducted. This analysis is in response to a letter from Aleksandr Formozov regarding the new excavations at Staroselye Cave on the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine, which brings up several ethical issues of archaeological concern that merit more extended discussion. The author laments that Formozov and his colleagues should respond for themselves concerning what perhaps should have been done or who should have been conferred relative to the reinvestigation of this important Palaeolithic site.