A Day On Wikipedia

Salvage Anthropology is related to [[salvage ethnography]], but involves the collection or salvage of cultural artifacts and even human remains as its method. In the late 19th century native populations were on the decline and early anthropologists feared that native societies would go extinct. This caused a worldwide collecting fervor among museums who purchased cultural artifacts to complete their collections on primitive societies. Anthropologists, amateur researchers and other scholars traded, purchased and even stole cultural artifacts from indigenous societies throughout the world, but particularly in North America, to finance their research and expenses.<ref>[Cole, Douglas, Captured Heritage: The Scramble for Northwest Coast Artifacts, 1995]</ref>