Looting is a major problem in archaeology. In this context, looting is defined as the acquisition by amateurs of artifacts for financial gain or for personal collections. But from the perspective of...

Looting is a major problem in archaeology. In this context, looting is defined as the acquisition by amateurs of artifacts for financial gain or for personal collections. But from the perspective of the people who left archaeological remains (and who sometimes purposely placed items, as in graves), is there any difference between scientific acquisition and looting? How would you, as an archaeologist, respond? What can archaeologists do to clearly distinguish their scientific work from looting?