Looting Essay

354 Words2 Pages
Looting also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting. The term is also used in a broader sense, to describe egregious instances of theft and embezzlement, such as the "plundering" of private or public assets by corrupt or greedy authorities. Looting is loosely distinguished from scavenging by the objects taken; scavenging implies taking of essential items such as food, water, shelter, or other material needed for survival while looting implies items of luxury or not necessary for survival such as art work, precious metals or other valuables. The proceeds of all these activities can be described as loot, plunder, or pillage. Looting originally referred primarily to the plundering of villages and cities not only by victorious troops during warfare, but also by civilian members of the community. Piracy is a form of looting organized by ships on the high seas outside the control of a sovereign government. We see examples of this in modern movies like Pirates of the Caribbean. Another common for of looting is the removal of archaeological items. Antiquities formerly removed from countries by outsiders, such as some of the contents of Egyptian tombs, which were transported to museums in Europe. Other examples include the obelisks of Pharaohs. Looting of archaeological sites is an ancient problem. For instance, many of the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs were looted during antiquity. Archaeology stimulates interest in ancient objects, and people in search of artifacts or treasure cause damage to archaeological sites. The commercial and academic demand for artifacts unfortunately contributes directly to the illicit antiquities trade. Smuggling of antiquities abroad to
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