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.