Attitudes have changed over the years, but I'll bet just about everyone doing this as a career scientifically began when their curiosity was piqued and they pocketed something.
Public lands need protection, but once enforcement gets heavy-handed, none of the amateurs will talk. Owners of private collections are paranoid of their artifacts being confiscated, even though many of these things were picked up long before protective laws
were even in effect, and when this kind of thing was routine and viewed as a healthy activity for kids. Such amateur interest can often be nurtured into volunteerism on the
side of science, if properly coached. The key is public education. Commercial looting is a
whole different subject, but was itself the cradle of much American archaeology.
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