Why they took – Humanity and expropriation during the colonial period

This paper explores how liberal ideals enabled and legitimized imperial practices by U.S. archaeologists in 19th-century Iraq. They sought to dissociate local Iraqis from their own heritage while interpreting ancient artifacts as part of a universal legacy requiring Western stewardship. Such logic justified extraction and exclusion, overriding local opposition in the name of protecting humanity’s past, however defined. Historical actors thus denied locals full humanity—and with it, legal or moral claims to cultural property. These tenets echo today’s debates on restitution and global heritage. Contemporary actors in liberal democracies often invoke universal visions of humanity while imposing conditions on restitution or sidelining local voices. Rather than distancing ourselves from a problematic past, this paper urges a critical reckoning with the illiberal foundations of liberalism: liberal ideals mask exclusionary practices under claims of global good. Without confronting this legacy, restitution risks becoming meaningless at best and neo-colonial at worst.