U.S. and Mali Extend Agreement to Protect the Archaeological Heritage of Mali

In response to Mali's activation of the related UNESCO article on 'Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property', US and Malian governments extended the agreement to impose restrictions on importation of archaeological materials from Mali from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age) to approximately the Mid-Eighteenth Century.

The 1970 UNESCO Convention offers a framework for multilateral agreements in order to preserve archaeological sites and prevent activity that would destroy information about past cultures and jeopardize a nation's cultural heritage.

Niger River Valley includes a continuum of civilizations from the Neolithic period to Colonial era, and therefore archaeological articles like the materials from Tellum burial caves of the Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) are preserved via the UNESCO Convention.