Summary:

Tuula Okkonen, Cultural Resources and Occupation – Archaeologists and Anthropologists with the Armed Forces in China and Japan in the context of the Second World War

During the Second World War archaeologists and anthropologists followed the Japanese Armed Forces to occupied areas in order to collect scientific resources, rare specimens, anthropological research material, artistic objects, archeological finds and excavation documents. From 1937 onwards Japanese researchers in occupied China selected and collected interesting material and transported it to Japanese universities, institutions and private collections. The American scientific community was well aware of these activities.

The American cultural resource management policy in occupied Japan was based on the ideal of protecting the world cultural heritage. One of the aims of the Arts and Monuments Division of the General Headquarters was to restore looted cultural objects to their rightful owners, although American anthropologists and archaeologists also made use of the research material and art collections available in Japan. The US was considered a wealthy nation which could take care of the world’s cultural heritage in its museums and collections, and research material was also brought to institutions which were regarded as capable of carrying out research work. The interest in cultural resources derived from a need to control the narrative of the past and the associations linked to the national history. Also, scientific material such as human fossils could be used to reconstruct the history of mankind.