Very similar to yours, Amy.

I have mixed emotions about this also.

amylou, turn the words around for a different but perhaps also interesting topic - Curiosity about A Lack of Ethics. Why is it so widespread and accepted?

Your point is right on amylou. In the end the graves were desecrated and looted. The end does not justify the means. Wrong is wrong and you know what they say about the good intentions.

Elmer I am not sure it is being sentimental to recognize that these mummies are human beings whose express wishes have been not only disregarded, but disrespected.....and for what?

As I said, I admit that I really enjoy learning about these things, but I am conflicted. Can't they rebury them and leave them alone?

And to add to that, why is it that it is only okay in certain circumstances? Why is it okay to dig up the Pharaohs of Egypt and put them on display but it is inconceivable to run tests on the remains of some of, say England's more famous or infamous monarchs like Henry the Eighth and his wives and heirs? These studies might actually have a more useful purpose beyond satisfying curiosity. They lived hundred of years ago it is true but maybe they are still too close to modern times for the powers that be to comfortable with it? Who is drawing these imaginary lines?

I don't see anything wrong or unethical with digging in ancient graves, per se -- but I don't believe that the stuff dug up belongs to anyone other than the people related to those that are buried. Related by historic culture if not by blood. So, archaeologists now should only look with the permission of those with legal and ethical claims on the land, and anything found there belongs to those with the claims - it can be documented by the archaeologists, but it's not theirs to choose take away, even for educational purposes.

There has been a movement for decades now to repatriate findings - usually but not always of cultural, artistic, or financial value - to the people and places where they were found.

FWIW, in many instances the Egyptian items, artifacts and mummies were plundered generations ago, back when there was little regard for preserving the integrity of sites, let alone regard for countries and people considered unworthy of it. The few things left to uncover from such ancient cultures today are meticulously, carefully documented and preserved.

Years ago I read an account of Lord Carnarvon's and Howard Carter's excavation of King Tut's tomb. That happened in 1922, well before modern protocols.

I understand the discoverers pocketed artifacts for themselves - which was common back then.

I guess it depends on your beliefs. Personally earthly belongs don't go with you and your body is just a shell after death.

Some counties cemetery plots aren't permanent. My cousin in Austria pays a fee yearly to keep her grandmother's grave from being re-used.

"In the end the graves were desecrated and looted."

Desecrated, by what system of beliefs and whose standards? Ancient Egyptians believed in multiple deities in a system that vanished long, long ago.

Taken one step further, I've heard multiple accounts that today's Egyptians are not upset about responsible academic investigation of the ancient people of their region, in contrast to the comment I quoted above which may not be commonly found in that nation today. Because modern Egyptians, whose society and culture remain heavily influenced by extreme Islam but somewhat more moderately so compared to other countries, do not generally view "ancient Egyptians" as their ancestors. Because they weren't Muslims.

That's where I am hung up. Is it okay to laugh off or wave away the religious and spiritual beliefs of these people? It is their bodies and graves that are being discovered and rooted through and put on display. Today people make such a big deal about their own or their loved ones' final wishes. If it matters to us why should we discard those of these people?

I have a Masters degree in archaeology--never finished the PhD-- and I've always thought I wouldn't mind a bit being the skeleton representing human beings in some far future museum. On the other hand, I do expect to be cremated. Actually, I'd like to be composted, but not likely to be possible.

Amylou - I share your feelings and have the same conflicted thoughts every time I watch these programs. I suppose an archaeologist would be more respectful of the remains than a tomb raider but really, neither are respecting the deceased’s belirfs and wishes.

I feel I’ll have better control of my eternity with cremation, and that will be my choice.

"Is it okay to laugh off or wave away the religious and spiritual beliefs of these people?"

How do we know what they were? Often the only way we get close to knowing is by these findings in the first place. We shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that they felt about dead bodies the same way we do......For instance, I feel differently than even others on these boards, so how do we know what someone thought hundreds or thousands of years ago?

In some instances, removing and preserving artifacts protects them from looting or damage.

How do you all feel about ossuaries--mostly used when there is simply not enough room for graves? After 10 years or so, the bones are dug up, dumped with others in an ossuary and the grave area reused. Quite common in parts of Europe. If you google it you'll find lots of info. Certainly used by Christians, and much less respectful of human remains than archaeological digs.

How far back do you want to take this? How do you feel about Neanderthal remains being dug up and studied? I know from 23&Me that I have about 3% Neanderthal DNA, and so I could claim them as being some of my ancestors.

I also read about a skeleton that archaeologists had dug up that was more than two thousand years old and was claimed by Native Americans as one of their ancestors. They demanded that the skeleton be returned to the ground and not studied further, but there was no evidence that the people making this claim were actually related to this skeleton, and without any study, no one would ever know for sure.

Many modern cultures do not respect their ancient ancestors or their cultures; hence ancient Buddhist monuments are often destroyed by radical Muslims. Christians did not respect ancient Roman and Greek religions and destroyed their statues and temples. The English used to use ancient Egyptian mummy powder as medicine, and cat mummies were used as fertilizer.

I will say that I was a bit upset when I visited Chiapas and Guatemala and learned that the riches of Mayan tombs were in the British Museum instead of Guatemala or Mexico. I believe that the English arrogantly believed (rightly or wrongly) that they were better at preserving ancient artifacts than the cultures that produced them.

The Iraqis have a terrible track record for taking care of ancient Mesopotamian artifacts.

Personally, I respect Neanderthal bones as much as I do any other human remains. At this point in history, there are too many people to preserve everyone's remains, and so one has to pick and choose.

From the title, I thought this was going to be a discussion on the morality of googling everyone you know.

The reason I want to be cremated is that I do not want my remains to be dug up and preserved from being "looted" by archeologists in the future. People in that field dig up people every day with the idea that doing so extends man's knowledge of man. I get that but mostly they do it for their career in the field. The public loves gold and they do love a grave with gold. It leads to more research money where you can find more gold. No gold with me so I would end up in a box on a shelf. I dont have much positive impression of archeologist in general but I also love learning the history of people in the past. Am I learning that from Archeologists? I do wonder. I doubt their interpretation of those people.

It is amazing that we have every evidence that digging people up for fun and profit is OK with the public who for some reason dont expect it to happen to them and theirs. That is profoundly dumb. I am with Amylou in this one.

I have always loved ancient Egypt and early civilizations. But...JMO...I believe that we forget that these were people who passed away and digging them up is so wrong. Let them rest in piece..

In 1974 the complete skeleton of a man was discovered in the Mungo Lake area of New South Wales. He had been buried in some sort of formal ceremony, the body scattered with red ochre. The remains were confirmed to be 42,000 years old, making them, along with the cremated remains of Mungo woman, the oldest human remains found in Australia, and confirming the very ancient presence of humans on the continent.

There was some question at one time as to whether Mungo Man was actually aboriginal since an early DNA test suggested otherwise: later, more advanced testing suggested the original test had been contaminated by researchers, and concluded that, indeed, Mungo Man's DNA was consistent with modern aboriginals. His existence was therefore proof of just how long Aborigines had lived in Australia, and has strengthened claims made by modern-day aboriginal groups in negotiations over land rights. He is enormously significant to Aborigines because he proves that their people have been here "since the beginning of time," as their culture has always believed; he is important as well because he is the oldest representative of a culture which venerates its ancestors.

All that science can know about him and his life has been wrung from the remains; after negotiations with the modern day peoples living in the Mungo Lakes area, he finally "returned to country " and has now been reburied.

The whole issue of removing ancestral remains for study has become contentious, and aboriginal groups are now campaigning for the return of skeletons and relics, and insisting on consultation on any further excavation.

I think that's fair enough. The free-booting days of rampaging through ancient sites and taking whatever you can, whether for wealth, fame or research purposes, and often doing significant damage in the process, are gone. Knowledge is important; understanding who we are and how we came to be here, and how we interrelate to one another, matters. That said, archaeologists need to work with the local people and adapt their research and excavations to local conditions in pursuit of that knowledge. It's one thing to excavate ancient Greek or Egyptian or Incan ruins in cooperative "digs" with local universities where there is a common, clearly understood goal, and quite another to march in on land that isn't yours and dig up the bones of people's ancestors without consultation or consideration for their values.