Artifacts, grave-related items, and Native American arts and crafts policy

We consider antiquities to be items of cultural significance and can come from anywhere in the world.

Listings for antiquities have to meet the following criteria:

• Items have to be authentic
• Sellers have to include the provenance or ownership history of the object and, if available, either a photo or a scanned image of an official document that clearly shows both the item's country of origin and the legal details of the sale (it has to be approved for import or export)

• Looted or stolen goods. The International Council of Museums' Red List- opens in new window or tab identify categories of cultural goods most vulnerable to illicit traffic

• Authentic artifacts, fossils, and relics have to meet the following criteria:
  • The item has to match the time-period category that it's listed in
  • If the item has been reworked or modernized in any way, this information has to be called out and fully described in the listing
• Reproduction of an artifact, fossil, or relic has to meet the following criteria:
  • The listing title and description have to clearly state that the item is a reproduction
  • The item must be listed in the appropriate Reproduction or Fantasy category

Artifacts, fossils, or relics taken from any of the following places:

• Federal or state public land
• Native American land or battlefield

Before listing these items, be sure to follow the law under The Federal Cave Protection Act - opens in new window or tab.

Listings for government survey markers (like those used by the U.S. Geological Survey) have to show proof that the government has transferred ownership to the eBay seller. This proof can be either a photo or a scanned image of the document.

Speleothems, stalactites, and stalagmites taken from caves on federal land

Under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act - opens in new window or tab, any item described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American must be made by an enrolled member of a state or federally recognized tribe or by someone certified as an Indian artisan by a recognized Indian tribe.

If you have questions, call the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) at 202-208-3773 or visit the IACB website - opens in new window or tab.

• 1934 or earlier authentic Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American arts and crafts should be listed in Collectibles > Cultures & Ethnicities > Native American: US > and in one of the following subcategories:
  • Pre-1600
  • 1600-1799
  • 1800-1934
• 1935 or later authentic Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American arts and crafts can be listed, as long as sellers include the artisan’s name and tribal affiliation in the item description
• Items created by non-tribe members can be described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American only if the seller meets both of these requirements:
  • The artisan is certified by the governing body of a tribe
  • This information is included in the listing.

• Describing items in the following terms because they make it hard for buyers to find authentic versions:
  • Alaska Native style
  • American Indian style
  • Native American style
  • Other descriptions that may suggest the item was made by a Native American
• Items not made by Native Americans can't be listed in Native American categories
• Unknown artisan or tribal affiliation for arts and crafts made in 1935 or later can't be described as Alaska Native, American Indian, or Native American

See the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act for more information.

• Items from Native American or Native Hawaiian grave sites, such as:
  • Funerary object placed with the dead
  • Grave marker
  • Human remains
• Sacred items used by Native American religious leaders in ceremonial practices, such as:
  • Ceremonial masks
  • Prayer sticks

You should describe items as Non-Native American Crafts if they weren't made by Native Americans or if they are reproductions.

Non-Native American items in the style of Native American art or crafts have to be listed in the Collectibles > Cultures & Ethnicities > Native American: US > Non-Native American Crafts category only.

Items listed in the Non-Native American Crafts category described as:

• Alaska Native style
• American Indian style
• Native American reproduction
• Native American style
• Other descriptions that may suggest the item was made by a Native American

You can list the following items, as long as they're new and have never been used:

• Burial plots
• Caskets
• Gravestones
• Headstones
• Tombstones
• Urns

• Items taken from historical grave sites like battlefields, protected lands, or shipwrecks
• Used funerary items like headstones, markers, or urns