Exporting the Original Lucy Fossil to Houston, Texas, does not Improve Ethiopia’s Image.
It is a Grand Scheme of Exploitation

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Commentary
AigaForum, 22 Feb 2005

Ethiopia and Friends of Ethiopia have been working hard to bring back the country’s stolen antiquities from abroad. At the same time, Ethiopian scientists and their foreign collaborators have moved Ethiopia to the forefront of global paleoanthropological research with the discovery of the most complete human origins record in the world, ranging in age from 100,000 years to 6 million years. Infrastructure for this vital science is rapidly expanding through education and the construction of a modern facility at the National Museum in Addis Ababa. Furthermore, educational and economic impacts of paleoanthropology are being realized as Ethiopians learn about their unique cultural heritage and tourists are beginning to flock to Ethiopia to visit her natural beauty and unique cultural treasures. UNFORTUNATELY, just as these benefits are being realized, efforts for long-term export (3 to 6 years) of these Ethiopian fossils and other historical artifacts are being made to help some cash-starved foreign museums raise funds using this rare Ethiopian collection. What is Ethiopia getting for its “compassionate” benevolence? Well, it is not known what the local Ethiopian brokers and their foreign counterparts are getting, but it is officially reported that the Houston Museum will make at least $7.5 million from visitors see news item and more when it subcontracts the collection to other museums in Chicago, New York, and other undisclosed destinations for a total time of 3 to 6 years. For comparison, a new touring exhibition of Egypt’s King Tut artifacts currently showing in Switzerland and heading to other European and American cities and is expected to gross $10 million at every museum for the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian authorities are using the exhibit to raise funds for building a $500 million museum complex near the Pyramids to showcase their rich cultural heritage collection (NYT Tut News). According to published reports, the Egyptian exhibit is insured for $680 million ( news). Unfortunately, Ethiopia is getting nothing for giving away its treasures for 3 to 6 years and it is not clear if the collection will be appropriately insured if the planned export is carried out.

For Ethiopia, these export plans are currently being implemented without the thorough consideration they deserve. These actions are certainly poised to seriously impact local touring operators and the flow of tourists to the country. The ill-planned export and exhibition agreement will exploit and harm Ethiopia’s short-and long-term capacity building efforts to enhance its tourism industry. The views of Ethiopian and their African, European, and American scientists have been misrepresented by few shortsighted officials, advocating the long-term, multiple-institution loan of the original Lucy fossil.

As a matter of principle, most Ethiopian scientists and the majority of international scientific community DO NOT favor the exhibition of original hominid fossils, especially at foreign venues. Such exhibition endangers the fossils, removes them from scientific study, wrests control and revenues away from the home institution, harms the home country by deflecting tourism and other benefits to foreign country, and denies scientific study access to local scholars. In contrast, promotion that employs digital and analog replicas of unique antiquities for exhibition abroad benefits the science and Ethiopia. Such promotion can occur without jeopardizing the country's antiquities and her ability to attract tourism. The forthcoming exhibit of Homo sapiens idaltu replicas at the Aichi World's Fair in Japan next March represents an excellent template for showcasing priceless national heritages without risking the safety and security of these treasures.

Why is it exporting the original Lucy fossil to a foreign country for a long-term, multiple-institution loan a bad idea for ETHIOPIA and for SCIENCE?

• 1. Such exhibition will constitute a violation of international convention (Protocol), exploiting the country and setting a harmful precedent.
• 2. Export and handling will expose the irreplaceable original antiquities to damage, unauthorized replication, and possible loss. Accurate replicas (casts) are sufficient and routinely used for exhibition display (art damage news).
• 3. Long-term commercial exhibition of the original fossils overseas will increase tourism in US cities, but will simultaneously harm future tourism to Ethiopia. When tourists can see Ethiopian treasures in major American and European cities, they are far less likely to travel to Ethiopia to be near the real things.
• 4. Ethiopia will give up control over scientific access and rights to the original fossil to a single overseas institution that will, in turn, broker access to other institutions for additional exhibition and profit-taking in the form of entrance fees, and giftshop/internet sales (keychains, posters, T-shirts, books, videos). The case of a European institution copyrighting and commercializing imagery of Ethiopian antiquities is a recent bad example of how such practices can cause national harm.
• 5. Scientific studies of the original fossils will happen overseas during the exhibition period, rather than in Ethiopia. It is certain that under these circumstances, scientific study will be relegated secondary status to commercial exhibition, and scientific study access will be restricted.
• 6. Ethiopia will dedicate and open a major state-funded modern laboratory facility at the National Museum for the curation of unique and diverse antiquities during the export period. Unfortunately, the best of the Ethiopian collection will not be there if the export is carried out as planned.

What can be done in Ethiopia’s national interest?

• 1. Serious negotiations by concerned Ethiopian professionals with the foreign museums and institutions can be undertaken with the explicit goal of using any exhibition to develop and promote Ethiopian institutions.
• 2. Any such agreements should place Ethiopia’s national interest and its capacity building efforts first.
• 3. Scientifically accurate REPLICAS of the original Lucy fossil and other one-of-a-kind antiquities can be exported for exhibition.
• 4. NON-UNIQUE Ethiopian antiquities and items of cultural significance can be exported and exhibited for short loan periods under the supervision of Ethiopian representatives.

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