Random Indiana Jones Was A Terrible Archaeologist (15 items)

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  (#12) When He Didn't Get Permission From Local Authorities

  Walter Donovan in The Last Crusade was thoroughly evil in his quest for the grail, willing to kill countless people to get his hands on it. However, when it came to archaeological ethics, he was surprisingly concerned with doing things the right way. He went to the local authority, the Sultan, and obtained permission to seek the Grail and remove it from the country.

  Indiana Jones never does any such thing, never seeks permission from any authority connected to the artifacts he is after, which may explain why he has such a difficult time in comparison to other characters like Donovan and Belloq. Jones is far more of a looter than any of them.

  Archaeologist William Parkinson explains:

  "Nobody is going to condone looting archaeological sites, which is really what we're talking about in the case of just going in and hiring local people to show you where something is so you can grab it for a museum. But in the '30s? I don't know that it occurred. Even at the turn of the (last) century with the excavation of things like King Tut's tomb, it was still done under the premise that you're trying to learn about the past."
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  (#5) When He Looted the Ark of the Covenant From A Real, Legal Archaeological Site

  When Indiana Jones goes after the Ark of the Covenant, he steals the item away from a real archaeological site that experts are in the process of excavating.

  "True, the Nazis were trying to find the Ark of the Covenant so they could destroy the world," archaeologist Marcello Canuto says. "But methodologically and legally they were in the right."

  The Nazi archaeologists were certainly up to no good, but presumably they had legally obtained permission to excavate. They were properly excavating the site instead of just dropping in, taking the most valuable thing, and running away like Indiana Jones was definitely trying to do.
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  (#13) When He Failed To Do Any Of His Own Research

  It's safe to assume that without the hard research work of Henry Jones, Sr., Indiana Jones would have been killed at some point in The Last Crusade. While Indy often seems to do enough preparation to not die in various booby traps, that doesn't hold true for his adventure for the Holy Grail.

  Indiana goes in entirely unprepared for the various traps that guard the Holy Grail. He is only saved from certain death by his father's research, which tells him what to expect. Before his father informs him of this, he seems perfectly willing to rush headlong into danger for the Grail.

  Even Jones himself admits in this movie that most archaeology is done in the library, which he would do well to remember if he doesn't want to get his head taken off by a booby trap.
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  (#8) When He Sold Artifacts To Shady Dealers For Diamonds

  In Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones becomes (once again) embroiled in the illegal antiquities trade when he delivers the remains of Emperor Nurhachi to the gangster Lao Che in return for a large diamond once owned by Alexander the Great.

  This scene raises a number of issues. First, Indy most likely looted the Emperor's remains from somewhere, removing it from its context (AKA the most important aspect of a site for archaeologists). Second, he sold the extremely important archaeological find to an antiquities dealer, even abandoning his usual commitment to bringing artifacts to a museum. Sure, the diamond could be an important artifact, as well, but is it more important than the Emperor's remains? Third, he is bartering with human remains, raising an entirely different ethical problem.

  Archaeologist Lord Colin Renfrew details, "For many years, concerned archaeologists have indicated how the attitudes of some antiquities dealers... and indeed of a number of leading museums have created a climate in which the traffic in illicit antiquities promotes the looting of archaeological sites worldwide." Indy is part of this damaging black market.
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  (#4) When He Completely Failed To Work With The Locals

  As Indiana Jones pursues the golden idol in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he's being followed by the local Hovitos tribe. When he finally acquires the idol, he's captured by the Hovitos, along with French archaeologist Dr. René Belloq. Belloq speaks their language and develops a relationship with them.

  Archaeologists are commonly concerned with creating a considerate and mutually beneficial relationship with the local people whose cultural site they are working on.

  Most archaeologists, at least. Not Indiana Jones, who breaks into their temple, steals their idol, and apparently never bothers to learn some of the local language to try to speak with them. In the end, he loses the idol to Belloq, who doesn't make these same mistakes.
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  (#10) When He Never, Ever Recorded His Data

  Indiana Jones is always prepared to take on Nazis or get himself out of a booby-trapped temple, but he rarely seems prepared to record his findings in any way.

  His father, Dr. Henry Jones, Sr., kept a complete record of his entire search for the Holy Grail, a valuable treasure trove of information even when the grail and the site were lost. However, you never see Indiana Jones keeping any records, which would be important given his tendency to destroy every archaeological site he has ever visited.

  Archaeologist William Parkinson says, "[I]f you spend 20 years meticulously excavating an archaeological site and you never publish (your findings), then you've just spent 20 years looting. There's no point! If you're not publishing, you're not any better than a tomb raider."

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