Bundys hold Paiute artifacts hostage

The 'hostages' of Oregon standoff: 4,000 Paiute artifacts? (+video)

The Burns Paiute tribe, whose ancestral lands are occupied by protesters at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, have asked officials to prosecute the armed activists for potential damage to sacred sites and historical artifacts.

By Molly JacksonAs the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge enters its third week, with little public response from the government, many Americans' initial fascination with Ammon Bundy's eclectic group of protesters demands to return the land "to the people" has faded to weary frustration.

For the nearby Burns Paiute tribe, however, much more is at stake: 4,000 tribal artifacts, maps, and hundreds of sacred sites that they fear may be damaged or carted off for profit while their ancestral lands remain under the control of armed activists who see loggers and ranchers, not Native Americans or the federal government, as the land's rightful owners.

"As far as I'm concerned, our history is just another hostage," Paiute Tribal Council Chairwoman Charlotte Rodrique told the Associated Press.

After weeks of speaking out against the occupation, the tribe has written a letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which manages the refuge, asking that the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, as the occupiers are now calling themselves, be prosecuted for any damage to federally protected artifacts. A copy was also sent to the US Attorney for the state of Oregon, Billy Williams, according to the AP.Burns Paiute Tribe: Oregon Occupiers Might Sell Sacred Artifacts on eBay

By Justin StreightCharlotte Roderique (pictured above), chair of the Burns Paiute Tribal Council, released a statement on the occupation Friday.

“Armed protestors don’t belong here. They continue to desecrate one of our most important sacred sites. They should be held accountable.”

Tribal council member Jarvis Kennedy highlighted one particular fear—that the artifacts could end up for sale.

“They could be on eBay right now—we don’t know. With militia members coming and going freely from the refuge, who knows what’s leaving there?”Interior and exterior threats

Oregon Wildlife Refuge Occupiers Rifle Through Native American Artifacts

By Brendan O'ConnorA video uploaded to Facebook on Wednesday appears to show the armed militants occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge rummaging through a storage area, accusing the Bureau of Land Management of improperly storing artifacts belonging to the local, native Paiute tribe. “SHARE!” the video is captioned. “BREAKING UPDATE BURNS OREGON BLM LEFT NATIVE ARTIFACTS TO ROT IN MICE DROPPINGS!”

Earlier this week, Burns Paiute tribal chairperson Charlotte Roderique expressed concern over how the militia was handling the tribe’s history. “We are really worried about the status of the artifacts down there,” Roderique told the Indian Country Today Media Network. (Gawker could not reach Roderique for comment.)

“I understand they took a bulldozer and built a line around the refuge headquarters,” Roderique told Indian Country Today. “You can’t go and bulldoze things. I don’t know what these people are doing if they are doing things to just get a rise or to be martyr—all they are doing is making enemies out of the people they professed to support.”

Last week, the tribe delivered a letter to the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demanding the militants’ prosecution “if the occupiers disturb, damage, remove, alter, or deface any archaeological resource on the refuge property.”Militants claim they want to return Paiute artifacts from Oregon reserve in new video

By Arturo GarciaMembers of Ammon Bundy’s militant group released a video on Wednesday claiming they want to “open a dialogue” with members of the Burns Paiute Tribe regarding artifacts stored inside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

The video, posted on YouTube by multiple-time felon Stanley Blaine Hicks under his “Blaine Cooper” alias, shows LaVoy Finnicum walking through a storage room at the facility, saying it contains artifacts shoved into boxes.

“You can see there’s some rat’s nests in here,” Finnicum says, motioning toward one group of boxes. However, no rats are visible at any moment during the three-minute video.

“My question is, why do they just keep them down here?” Finnicum asks.

Militants Plow New Roads At Refuge, Possibly Damaging Artifacts

By Amanda PeacherKevin Foerster, the agency’s Pacific region chief, also denounced the construction.

“There’s a reason why there’s not a road there,” said Foerster. “If there was a need for a road in that particular location, we would have over the past 108 years put a road in that location.”

The agency said the action is likely a violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, also known as the ARPA.

“Even disturbing 3 to 4 inches on the surface is an ARPA violation,” said Holm. “Investigators will have to excavate to determine depth of disturbance in several areas to understand the extent of the damage.”Summing it up

Bundy Militia Compared To ISIS For Pawing Through Native American Artifacts, Destroying Sites

By Kristina KillgroveOn the face of it, this doesn’t seem like a bad sentiment. For an organization obsessed with individual rights, it makes sense in a way: Finicum and others may actually be convinced that the Paiute objects need rescuing. But their paternalistic concern for people they perceive as downtrodden by the US government is misplaced. The Paiute agree that the objects need to be rescued—but rescued from Finicum and the other militia members. Rodrique is further quoted in Daily Kos as saying that “we feel strongly because we have had a good working relationship with the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge” prior to the occupation. “We view them as a protector of our cultural rights in that area.” The Paiute helped archive the artifacts at the refuge in the first place.

The Daily Kos quotes tribal council member Jarvis Kennedy as saying, “They just need to get the hell out of there. They didn’t ask anybody, we don’t want them here.” And the archaeologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Carla Burnside, told ICTMN that militants released photos of themselves in her office rifling through sensitive archaeological files. Fish and Wildlife Service assistant director of external affairs, Jason Holm, further told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the road the occupiers recently bulldozed is “an archaeological site important to the Burns Paiute Tribe.” They also removed a fence that Holm said was “a deterrent to keep fire crews from driving across the archaeological site.”

The actions of the Bundy-led militia almost certainly go against ARPA, in spite of what Finicum and friends seem to think. Legal protections have been put into place over decades in the US to protect Native sites, artifacts, and burials and to help right the wrongs done to Native archaeological remains since Europeans first landed. Finicum may think he is doing the right thing in his misguided attempt to repatriate artifacts that are being stored at the refuge by choice and by design, but the Paiute vehemently disagree. And as it’s their heritage, it’s their right to rebuff Finicum and to bring federal action against the occupants who have no idea how to handle the artifacts or how to safeguard their sacred sites.

Rodrique’s quote in ICTMN sums it up for me, and for many of the people in my Twitter feed outraged by this brash disregard for the opinions of Natives: “I don’t know what these people are doing… if they are doing things to just get a rise or to be a martyr—all they are doing is making enemies out of the people they professed to support.”Comment:  For more on Cliven Bundy, see Bundy: Paiutes Lost Their Claim and Paiutes Tell Bundys to Leave.

Historical Atlas of Ancient America

Historical Atlas of Ancient AmericaWhen Christopher Columbus landed on the Caribbean islands, he found tribes of people still firmly rooted in the Stone Age. Within decades, however, Spanish explorers made contact with cultures in the Mesoamerican isthmus which lay beyond the Caribbean that possessed far greater technological prowess. "The Historical Atlas of Ancient America" describes in vivid detail the highly developed religious, political, economic, and agricultural systems of the wealthy and highly influential Aztec and Maya civilizations, along with those of their predecessors, the Olmec and Toltec. The key features of this title include: superb full-color photographs of temples, towns, and artifacts; timelines that compare developments in Mesoamerica to those in the rest of the world; and, specially created maps that highlight the movements and influences of the Mesoamerican people and identify their major social and cultural centers.

From Library Journal
Hunt, the author of over 15 books on Native America (e.g., People of the Totem), here presents a lay reader's overview of the Mesoamerican cultures from about 1500 B.C.E. to about 1500 C.E. (e.g., Olmec, Maya, and Aztec). After defining terms and giving a summary of the cultures to be presented in a two-page introduction, Hunt moves on to explore each culture in seven enlightening chapters. The energetic and readable text is accompanied by many color illustrations and maps (either in the first two pages of most chapters to pinpoint major sites or within the text to show building locations at given sites). Perhaps the most refreshing quality of this attractive tome is the author's uncompromising honesty whenever little is known. Suitable for both public and academic libraries. --Mary Lynette Larsgaard, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara

A very enjoyable and highly informative atlas
By timothy mulvey on February 5, 2013

This book was a joy to read, a great addition to my ancient culture and metaphysical library. I read it just before going to southern Mexico for 2 weeks, it was the perfect Mesoamerica primer for me. Beautiful book!Comment:  For most people, this is a great introduction to the field. It breaks down every aspect of Mesoamerican cultures into two-page spreads of easily digestible info.

Two pages per topic is just enough to satisfy but not overwhelm a reader. If someone did a study on breaking a large subject into bite-size chunks to increase readability, this book would be Exhibit A on how to do it.

My only complaint is with the final few pages on Aztec mythology. It's a bit too much on the subject.

Why devote so many pages to the Aztec gods but not the Maya gods? It was almost as if Hunt was trying to fill his page quota. Or as if he were an expert on Aztec mythology and wanted to show off his knowledge.

But that's a minor quibble. This book is a perfect starting place for those interested in the Maya, Aztec, and other Mesoamerican peoples. Rob's rating: 8.5 of 10.

Murder Digs Deep in Murder, She Wrote

An old episode of Murder, She Wrote (airdate: December 29, 1985) features a Native theme:

Murder, She Wrote: Murder Digs DeepJessica visits Cabot Cove's Dr. Seth Hazlitt at a New Mexico archaeological dig, with the idea of getting story ideas from the experience. The site is full of colorful characters, from the gold-digging Gideon Armstrong and his young wife, Cynthia, Southwest University professor Dr. Stan Garfield, TV celebrity Dr. Aubrey Benton, and the conflicted Raymond Two Crows, who both helps and hinders the dig. They're excavating in an Anasazi village, and perhaps Coronado's legendary city of gold. On a night after gold is found in the dig, Cynthia shoots at the "vengeful spirit" who shows up every night to drive out the grave diggers. The "spirit" falls back from the ledge, where the camp finds Raymond, dead on the ground. He wasn't shot, but it's not clear if his fall was really fatal, or if he died by other means. Jessica digs in, with the help of Dr. Seth, uncovering the truth behind the personalities, and the dig site itself.This episode has some good bits but more bad bits.

On the plus side, they're supposedly excavating at Gran Quivira, which is a real place:

Gran QuiviraThe Gran Quivira unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is the biggest of the three units at 611 acres. Prior to Spanish contact, Gran Quivira was a vast city with multiple pueblos, and kivas.Gran Quivira isn't a site of the "Anasazi," now called Ancestral Puebloans. But it is a site of the Anasazi's descendants, so we're talking about similar cultures.

It's almost due south of Santa Fe, not due east. But at least it's in the same general area--i.e., north-central New Mexico.

It's not on Navajo land, but Navajo land isn't that far away. Navajos may have lived there before they were herded onto reservations. A Navajo might be concerned about white men digging on former Navajo territory.

So the details are wrong, but not terribly wrong. Since most TV shows put imaginary tribes in places where they never existed, this is better than average. So far.

On the other hand

Then there's the minus side. The archaeologists claim they're seeking "Coronado's legendary city of gold," which is ridiculous. That city never existed and nobody believes it did.

If it did exist, it wouldn't be in a known Pueblo village. We have historical accounts of Spaniards visiting Gran Quivira. They didn't find gold there or in any other Pueblo village.

I don't think archaeologists have found more than a couple of gold artifacts, if any, north of Mexico. To find two in one day is even more ridiculous. And the artifacts are perfectly preserved, not encrusted with dirt and pitted with corrosion. That's beyond ridiculous.

Then there's Raymond Two Crows. As another fansite notes about the archaeological party:

S02E11–Murder Digs DeepLater that night when they are all sitting around eating dinner they are rudely interrupted by a Native American standing on the hill above them, dancing and chanting. Karen informs JB that he appears at the same time every night, trying to scare them away from the dig, but by the time the guards get up to him he is gone. Forget Indiana Jones, this episode is a Great Dane away from becoming an episode of Scooby Doo.

The onlookers are pretty sure it's Two Crows, but how is this even an issue? Either someone sees him leave, or everyone but him is present. Either way, there's no mystery.

And the idea that his act would scare people...ridiculous. The onlookers think it's ridiculous too...but even in that context, it's ridiculous. You do an act, people laugh at you...so you continue doing it? Not unless you're in a Scooby Doo cartoon.

As it turns out, this "Navajo" isn't what he seems. That explains his in-story mistakes, but not why the others tolerate his "evil spirit" routine. Either put a guard on Two Crows or stake out the ledge and his act ends immediately.

All in all, Murder Digs Deep is a typical Native-themed TV episode. It's a sincere attempt to present a Native story with a mixed bag of results. It could be better, could be worse.

You can read the rest of the plot in these reviews, including this one:

Season 2: Murder Digs Deep

And visit IMDB for the credits:

Murder Digs Deep

Fremont Indians on SciGirls

I recently watched an episode of SciGirls about Indians on PBS:

About SciGirlsSciGirls is a new show for kids ages 8-12 that showcases bright, curious real tween girls putting science and engineering to work in their everyday lives. Each half-hour episode follows a different group of middle school girls, whose eagerness to find answers to their questions will inspire your children to explore the world around them and discover that science and technology are everywhere!

In the first season of SciGirls, the girls, with the help of scientist mentors, design their own inquiry-based investigations on a huge variety of topics, from the environment to technology and from engineering to nutrition. Shot reality style, SciGirls around the country study dolphins, engineer a giant mechanical puppet, unearth the archaeological secrets of extinct Native American cultures and create high-tech fashions. Videos of these investigations are archived in a project section of the show’s companion Web site.

While we meet new girls in each episode, the series is unified by a pair of recurring animated characters Izzie and her best friend Jake. Together, they embark on their own adventures and call on the SciGirls for help.The episode in question:

Behind the Scenes | Archaeology AdventureMeet Jazzy and Gates, two adventure-loving SciGirls who just returned from four days of hardcore camping far away from running water, little siblings, computers and cell phones--all in the name of science!

The girls teamed up with Dr. Renee Barlow, the Curator of Archaeology of the College of Eastern Utah’s Prehistoric Museum, to try and unearth some clues about the mysterious Fremont Indian culture that lived in Range Creek Canyon about 1,000 years ago.Digging Archaeology 05: ShareThe SciGirls collected specimens and made detailed observations in their studies of the ancient Fremont culture. They took these observations into account and made some hypotheses about what the ancient people ate and how they lived.Comment:  Perhaps because Jazzy is Native, the episode didn't waste any time on ignorant or stereotypical beliefs about Indians. These girls already seem more knowledgeable about Indians than typical Americans.

The animated introduction had Izzie having to learn archaeology to dig through Jake's locker trash for his lucky socks. Maybe tween girls appreciate that, but I'd drop it.

All in all, the show did a good job of simplifying archaeology to the level of someone 8-12 years old. It might be enough to inspire some girls to pursue science.

Below: Jazzy and Gates.

Natives in The Chris Isaak Show

Long ago, someone told me about an episode of The Chris Isaak Show. I hadn't seen it so I didn't say anything about it.

I just saw the comment below describing the episode. It sounded reasonable so I thought I'd share it.

Friday, December 26, 2016 – First Native EpisodeI called in to mention a Chris Isaak Show episode from 2004 called “The Family of Man.” In the episode, Chris Isaak tries to use his celebrity to skirt important legal guidelines for archaeological excavations when builders of his luxury home unearth Native objects while digging the foundation. He offers to play the local tribal casino, in the hopes that his new friends will allow him to skip the excavation. The subplot is one of Chris’s band members discovers he is “part Native American” and ends up physically inserting himself into a museum exhibit at the local tribal casino museum in an attempt to “discover” himself. Certainly an episode to track down.Another site offers more details:

The Family of ManA happy Chris begins building his cabin in the mountains near Bear Valley, only to discover a Native American artifact during the construction. The contractor stops all work until it can be verified if they're excavating sacred Indian land. Nervous that he may lose his land because of the find, Chris agrees to perform at the nearby Kahoosh Indian casino in hopes of enlisting support from his indigenous neighbors. He also wants to impress singer/songwriter Bret Michaels, who, because of an earlier misunderstanding, thinks he's selfish.

Meanwhile, Anson's on the warpath when he discovers that his recently identified Native American ancestors met a gruesome fate, and goes hunting for retribution.Comment:  I can't tell for sure without seeing the episode, but it doesn't sound good. At least it features a few Native actors, including Gary Farmer, Glen Gould, and Carmen Moore, so that's something.

Valley of Fire State Park

After visiting my family Christmas Day in Las Vegas, I spent Dec. 26 in Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park. Unlike national parks such as Zion, Bryce, and Arches, Valley of Fire has a fair amount of Native lore.

Valley of Fire State ParkThe Valley of Fire derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago. Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape.

Other important rock formations include limestones, shales, and conglomerates. Prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire included the Basket Maker people and later the Anasazi Pueblo farmers from the nearby fertile Moapa Valley.

The span of approximate occupation has been dated from 300 B.C.E. to 1150 C.E. Their visits probably involved hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited the length of their stay. Fine examples of rock art left by these ancient peoples can be found at several sites within the park.Leaving Las Vegas….Thursday, again after a trip through Subway for sandwiches, we drove east on I-15 for about an hour to the Moapa Travel Plaza Exit. From there, it’s an easy 15 miles or so to the West Entrance to the Valley of Fire State Park. And, yes, the park is open on Thanksgiving day. What I hadn’t seen yet, and had been meaning to check out, were the thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs located in the park, only an hour east of town! Sites here have been dated between 300 B.C. to 1150 A.D. and possibly older. The narrow canyon leading to “Mouse’s Tank” contains one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs I’ve seen in one place. Think Sand Island, Newspaper Rock, Horseshoe Canyon and The Procession Panel–linked together.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas, have ingested enough secondhand smoke, and need some peace and quiet, I’d recommend a day (or more) at Valley of Fire. You’ll find quiet, private campsites, a well done, informative visitor center and a long weekend’s worth of desert hiking. Bring your camera and binoculars. Some of the rock art panels are up high and you’ll want magnification. A side-note to fellow Star Trek fans: This is the place where Captain Kirk died in Star Trek Generations!Comment:  This is one of the best parks I've visited--roughly equal to Zion, Bryce, Arches, Monument Valley, and Red Rock Canyon. It's well worth a day trip if you visit Las Vegas.

Greenpeace damages Nazca site

Peru Is Indignant After Greenpeace Makes Its Mark on Ancient Site

By William NeumanAn expression of concern by the environmental group Greenpeace about the carbon footprint was marred this week by real footprints—in a fragile, and restricted, landscape near the Nazca lines, ancient man-made designs etched in the Peruvian desert.

The Peruvian authorities said activists from the group damaged a patch of desert when they placed a large sign that promoted renewable energy near a set of lines that form the shape of a giant hummingbird.

The sign was meant to draw the attention of world leaders, reporters and others who were in Lima, the Peruvian capital, for a United Nations summit meeting aimed at reaching an agreement to address climate change. The meeting was scheduled to end Friday but negotiations were expected to continue into Saturday.

Greenpeace issued a statement apologizing for the stunt at the archaeological site, about 225 miles south of Lima. Its international executive director, Kumi Naidoo, flew to Lima, but the Peruvian authorities were seething over the episode, which they said had scarred one of the country’s most treasured national symbols.

This Greenpeace Stunt May Have Irreparably Damaged Peru's Nazca Site

By George DvorskyThe Peruvian government is planning to file criminal charges against Greenpeace activists who may have permanently scarred the Nazca Lines World Heritage Site during a publicity stunt.

As The Guardian reports, the Nazca lines "are huge figures depicting living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary figures scratched on the surface of the ground between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago." The figures, which can only be seen from the air, are believed to have had ritual functions related to astronomy.

The ground around the site is so sensitive and so sacred that Peru has even forbidden presidents and top officials to walk where the Greenpeace activists went. Peru's Deputy Culture Minister told the BBC: "You walk there, and the footprint is going to last hundreds or thousands of years." Tourists generally get to see the site from the air, or, on rare occasions, are equipped with special foot gear.

"They are absolutely fragile. They are black rocks on a white background. You walk there and the footprint is going to last hundreds or thousands of years," said the minister. "And the line that they have destroyed is the most visible and most recognized of all."Greenpeace apologises to people of Peru over Nazca lines stunt

Culture ministry says it will press charges against activists for damage to world heritage site as UN climate talks began in Lima

By Dan CollynsGreenpeace has apologised to the people of Peru after the government accused the environmentalists of damaging ancient earth markings in the country’s coastal desert by leaving footprints in the ground during a publicity stunt meant to send a message to the UN climate talks delegates in Lima.

A spokesman for Greenpeace said: “Without reservation Greenpeace apologises to the people of Peru for the offence caused by our recent activity laying a message of hope at the site of the historic Nazca lines. We are deeply sorry for this.

“Rather than relay an urgent message of hope and possibility to the leaders gathering at the Lima UN climate talks, we came across as careless and crass.”

Earlier Peru’s vice-minister for culture Luis Jaime Castillo had accused Greenpeace of “extreme environmentalism” and ignoring what the Peruvian people “consider to be sacred” after the protest at the world renowned Nazca lines, a Unesco world heritage site.Comment:  Why don't the space aliens return and fix it?!

A tweet makes the problem plain:

Donna Yates ‏@DrDonnaYates Dec 12
FYI: this is the damage done to the Nazca lines by Greenpeace. Not minor. Not in someone's opinion. Look at that.

ATV rally threatens Native sites

Welfare Cowboy Jr. Leads 300 Armed Protesters on Crusade for More Stuff They Aren’t Entitled To

By Josh KilburnThe entitled lowlifes at the Bundy Ranch are back at it again, and this time gathering 300 strong to ride roughshod through the Four Corners region that is home to ancient dwellings and other cultural resources to the Ancestral Pueblo—because the White man cannot do enough damage to Native American history, he also has to run ATVs through historically important land as well.ATV Rally to Ride Through Sacred Native American Burial Sites

By Scott Gaudinier[B]oth Native Americans and environmentalists state that the current ATV ban is vital at Recapture Canyon, as there are fragile artifacts, burials and homes of ancient Pueblo peoples, all of which need to be preserved. Current Navajo inhabitants claim that the dwellings and artifacts left there belonged to their direct ancestors, and that the sacred land needs to not be trodden upon out of respect for their people.

Lyman, in response to Native American criticism, stated that it would be possible for ATVs to ride through the area while preserving sacred ancient artifacts. However, Jessica Goad from the Center for Western Priorities strongly disagreed with Lyman’s statement, explaining how ATV riders ruined any chance of riding through the area when two men were discovered by authorities using picks and shovels to construct another trail for ATVs before the original ban had been instituted.

The ATV rally to ride through sacred Native American burial sites has since spurred anger among Natives, as well as environmentalists and other groups opposed to the rising threat of right-wing action in Western states. According to these groups, not only do these actions show extreme lack of respect to Native cultures, but it also shows a high amount of ignorance about the government’s involvement in the lives of citizens. This is due to both far-right individuals like rancher Cliven Bundy and the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, who each provoked the event.

Bundy supporters defy feds by riding ATVs in off-limits Utah canyon[BLM Utah director Juan Palma] said he was concerned the riders may have damaged artifacts and dwellings that "tell the story of the first farmers in the Four Corners region" of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

"Damage to archaeological sites is permanent and the information about our collective past is then lost forever," Jerry Spangler, of the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance, said to the Salt Lake Tribune. "It is sad that irreplaceable treasures of importance to all Americans would be sacrificed on the altar of anti-government fervor. It is worse that protesters would be so blinded to their own insensitivity as to what others consider to be sacred treasures of their past."

Palma also pointed out in his statement that there are more than 2,800 miles of trails on public lands that are open to ATV use within a short drive of Blanding. He also noted that BLM-managed public lands in Utah provide $490 million in local and national economic benefits in 2012.ATVs in Recapture Canyon: What Are They Fighting For?

By Christina RoseLyman said he knows the area is sacred but somehow believes that ATV riders can preserve the area while riding down paths too narrow to pass without damaging the area.

“The trail within the closure area is very narrow. There are many points throughout the closed area where there are remains, relics, artifacts.” Crandall said. “Some are right next to the trail and some are even on the trail. You are risking those resources by using those vehicles.”

In a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune, Willie Grayeyes, chair of a nonprofit that lobbies to protect Navajo land, wrote that a Veterans Retreat had to be cancelled because of the rally.

“This opportunity for healing, to help these men and women has been postponed due to the threats of illegal activities by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman on behalf of those who desire to drive their ATV toys over the sacred ruins of others.” Grayeyes wrote. “Contrary to the beliefs of many, southeastern Utah was not an empty place that no one wanted just waiting to be inhabited by European settlers or discovered as a recreation playground, but rather it was and remains our home.”

Lyman has complained that Blanding’s ancestors used that path 150 years ago to travel north and the townspeople have a right to the area, which is still legally accessible on foot and on horseback.

“I understand the viewpoint that many of the descendants of the original Blandings were there 150 years ago, but I would also say that the Native Americans have been here for two millennia,” Crandall responded.How Cliven Bundy and the Land Rights Movement Screws Native Americans

Land Rights activists like to invoke ‘ancestral rights’ to federally owned land, even as they run roughshod over preservation sites for ancient Native American cultures.

By Caitlin DicksonThe piece of Recapture Canyon that Saturday’s protesters insist they have a right to drive on is closed off in order to preserve artifacts that offer invaluable insight into how ancient Native Americans lived.

“Damage to archaeological sites is permanent and the information about our collective past is then lost forever,” the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance’s Jerry Spangler told The Salt Lake Tribune in response to the protest. “It is sad that irreplaceable treasures of importance to all Americans would be sacrificed on the altar of anti-government fervor. It is worse that protesters would be so blinded to their own insensitive as to what others consider to be sacred treasures of their past.”

Libertarians—the proponents of hands-off government, including land rights activists—are fond of appropriating Native American imagery to evoke negative sentiments toward the federal government, especially with regards to gun control. Last year, several gun control opponents warned that federal gun regulations would lead to a massacre akin to that of nearly 300 Lakota Indians by U.S. soldiers near the South Dakota’s Wounded Knee Creek in 1890. “Wounded Knee was among the first federally backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history,” one blogger at Libertarian politician Ron Paul’s website DailyPaul.com wrote last year. “It ended in the senseless murder of 297 people.” A popular Internet meme picturing a Native American tribal leader surrounding the words, “I’m all for total gun control and trusting the government to protect you…After all, it worked great for us,”promotes the same message.

That believers of the same ideology would try to appeal to the emotions of Native Americans to promote one agenda, while shamelessly ignoring the rights of those same people in an effort to further another cause, is ironic to say the least. So, too, is Bundy, a literal freeloader in every sense of the word, suggesting that black people would be better off as slaves than “under government subsidy.”Arrest the bums

BLM Says It Will Prosecute Illegal ATV Riders at Recapture Canyon

By Public News ServiceThe federal government says it plans to prosecute everyone who illegally rode an ATV on federally protected lands in southeastern Utah over the weekend. Juan Palma with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says his agency will "pursue all available redress through the legal system to hold the lawbreakers accountable."

Motorized vehicles have been banned in the area, which contains ancient Native American cultural assets, since 2007.Comment:  I hope prosecutions will happen, but I wouldn't bet on it. No one wants to go up against the gun-wielding Bundy "patriots" aka terrorists.

For more on Cliven Bundy, see ATV Rally in Off-Limit Canyon and What Bundy and Sterling Tell Us.

ATV rally in off-limits canyon

With links to welfare cowboy Cliven Bundy, anti-government "patriots" planned to show their contempt for the Constitution, the law, and Native Americans.

Gov. Herbert: Uphold laws during ATV protest

By Brady McCombsAn idyllic Utah canyon home to ancient cliff dwellings and native burials will be the site of a protest Saturday by a group of people who plan to mount their ATVs and ride a trail that has been off limits to motorized vehicles since 2007.

The Bureau of Land Management is warning riders to stay out, vowing prosecution against those who ignore a law put in place after an illegal trail was found that cuts through ruins that are nearly 2,000 years old. The canyon is open to hikers and horseback riders.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said he understands frustration around the issue, but urged people to uphold the law and not disrupt public safety during the protest.

The protest is the latest illustration of tension between Western residents and the federal government over management of public lands. But the off-road protest isn't expected to end in a confrontation like other recent ones.Saturday’s Illegal Cliven Bundy-Endorsed ATV Rally Runs Through Sacred American Indian Sites

By Matt Lee-AshleyAn illegal all-terrain vehicle (ATV) ride planned this weekend through Recapture Canyon in Utah is the latest flashpoint between anti-government activists and federal land managers. The illegal ride is already drawing criticism from the Navajo Nation, putting American Indian burial sites and cultural resources at risk, and has even forced the cancellation of a traditional Navajo Warrior welcome home ceremony for veterans.

Yet San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman (R-UT) and his supporters appear determined to defy federal law by riding their ATVs through Recapture Canyon, an area of southeast Utah known as a “mini-Mesa Verde” because it contains one of the highest densities of archaeological sites in the country.

Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who has refused to pay more than $1 million in grazing fees he owes U.S. taxpayers, has reportedly urged his supporters-–who include armed militia members–-to join Lyman in Utah this weekend.

“We need to help the people of Blanding re-establish who is in control of the land,” said Bundy and his wife, Carol, in an email that was reported by E&E News. “This is your next stand. Will you be there to help them like you helped us?”NCAI Urges Cliven Bundy to Respect Native Ancestral Sites; Cancel RallyCliven Bundy’s group plans to ride roughshod through the Utah Canyon with a gang of all-terrain vehicles which would endanger places of cultural significance to Native peoples. Bundy thinks he is protecting his rights, but he is endangering the cultural integrity of the homelands of Native peoples.

Since well before the state of Nevada, the federal government, and farmers and ranchers occupied the area, tribal nations–including the Las Vegas Band of Paiute, Moapa Band of Paiute, and other tribes in the area–have respected and honored the Utah Canyon as a sacred place. Native peoples believe the canyon contains many markers from their ancestors. An action like this is no more appropriate than a similar activity at a church or other place of worship.

The NCAI strongly urges federal authorities to act–as part of its trust responsibility to tribal nations–to prevent this potential destruction of sacred places. We would oppose an action of this type not only by Mr. Bundy and his supporters, but by anyone with a disregard for Native peoples and cultures.During the event

Trail ride challenges federal control of Utah land

By Jennifer DobnerHundreds of activists seeking to directly challenge federal control of swathes of territory in the U.S. West on Saturday drove dozens of all-terrain vehicles into protected land in Utah that is home to Native American artifacts and where such journeys are banned.

The ride into Recapture Canyon, which comes amid heightened political tensions, is a protest against indecision by federal land managers on whether to reopen canyon trails to recreational vehicle use after more than seven years of study.

About 300 people rallied at a nearby park before dozens of people, some of them armed with guns, set off in about 60 ATVs down a closed-off trail, which winds through red rock desert. The local sheriff had armed officers on horseback monitoring the protest.

The dispute is the latest squabble between conservative states' rights advocates in Utah and across the West, who want to take back millions of acres of public land over which federal agencies have authority. More than 60 percent of Utah's land is under federal control.

The canyon in the Four Corners region of Utah is home to the ruins of ancient dwellings and other cultural resources of Ancestral Puebloans. The Bureau of Land Management closed the area in 2007 after an illegally constructed trail was found and some artifact sites were damaged.

Utah ATV protest peaceful

But BLM says it documented illegal use

By John PeelATV riders drove at least a couple miles into an off-limits area Saturday to protest the closure of a trail in a popular canyon with ancestral Puebloan artifacts just east of town.

A rally before the ride and the ride itself both went off peacefully Saturday morning. But there were some testy moments at the morning rally at Centennial Park on the southwest edge of town as visitors from outside the area exhorted San Juan County residents to fully flaunt their right to the part of Recapture Canyon in question, located on Bureau of Land Management land and closed to ATVs in September 2007.

Also, a statement issued after the ride from BLM Utah Director Juan Palma said the agency had documented those who rode Saturday into the area closed to motorized use.

“The BLM was in Recapture Canyon today collecting evidence and will continue to investigate,” Palma’s statement said. “The BLM will pursue all available redress through the legal system to hold the lawbreakers accountable.”Protesters in Utah drive ATVs onto federal land—but find no showdown

By John M. GlionnaThe ATVs kicked up sprays of dirt, their riders waving American flags and protest signs as they rumbled along a disputed canyon trail that federal officials had closed to motorized vehicles.

Their message Saturday was clear amid the dust: This was the latest challenge by citizens saying they are defending state and local rights against an increasingly arrogant federal government that has overstepped its role in small communities such as Blanding.

The protagonist this time wasn't a private rancher like Cliven Bundy, who prevailed in a standoff with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. This protest was the brainchild of a public official, San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, who contends that this town of 3,500 residents has tried hard to compromise with the bureau to reopen scenic Recapture Canyon to all-terrain vehicles.

BLM officials banned the vehicles to protect archaeological sites, a move residents say has cheated them out of a prime recreational area. Unlike in the Bundy incident, no guns were brandished here, but the words were volatile. "If you make a rule that I have to lick your boots," Lyman said of federal officials, "I'm just not going to do that."Dozens of protesters ride ATVs in off-limits canyon

Protesters ride ATVs through canyon despite ban, BLM officials document illegal activity

Welfare Cowboy Jr. Leads 300 Armed Protesters on Crusade for More Stuff They Aren’t Entitled To

Comment:  For more on Cliven Bundy, see What Bundy and Sterling Tell Us and Cliven Bundy vs. Dann Sisters.

The real Indiana Jones

Comment:  For more on the subject, see Indiana Jones in Saturday Night Live and Indiana Jones's Criminally Bad Archaeology.

Developer: Tequesta site is "hokum"

Development vs. preservation is a decades-old issue, but here's an interesting case:

As Native American sites are unearthed, questions about preservation versus revitalization

By Christine ArmarioIn a vacant lot between gleaming hotels in downtown Miami, are a series of holes carved into the bedrock that form eight circles.

At first glance, the site seems like an eyesore, but it's here where archaeologists say they have uncovered a major prehistoric Native American village, one of the largest and earliest examples of urban planning ever uncovered in North America.

It's also where a movie theater, condos and 34-story hotel are expected to be built.

The discovery has pitted developers against archaeologists and historic preservationists. The dispute comes as an increasing number of Native American sites are being uncovered around the country with advances in technology and a greater understanding of the subtle markers left behind to look for. The discoveries pose difficult questions for cities such as Miami that must decide whether it is best to preserve the remains of an ancient society or, often times, destroy it in hopes of revitalizing a new one.

"Let's be honest with each other," said Eugene Stearns, the attorney representing MDM Development Group, which owns the property and is eager to move forward with construction. "Every great city is built on the shards of a former great city."

At its height, archaeologist Bob Carr estimated as many as 2,000 people lived in the Tequesta village, starting around 500 B.C. It likely extended a quarter mile along the Miami River and then wrapped around Biscayne Bay.

Much of the village consisted of thatched, hut-like buildings the Tequestas, one of South Florida's earliest tribes, built by digging holes with clam shells into the soft limestone, and then inserting pine logs to hold floors, walls and roofs.

Because of the materials used—straw, wood—the only remnants of the buildings are the postholes, today still forming 18 to 40-foot circles in the blackened bedrock.

MDM has proposed carving out a section of the limestone containing the circle formations and placing it on display in a public plaza.

Preservations, however, say removing a piece of architecture isn't like moving a painting from one museum to another.

"The idea that you would carve out a chunk and move it to some other place and put it into exhibition sounds strange to me and sad," said Mark Jarzombek, associate dean of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology's School of Architecture and Planning. "These places are very site specific. There's a reason why they made this village or town there which has to do with orientation, landscape, access to rivers."

MDM has spent $3 million conducting an archaeological review and is now anxious to continue construction. Stearn said all of the planned commercial space has been leased and half of the residential units have been sold.

"There are enormous financial obligations and commitments that have to be met," he said. "And they need to go forward."The pressure to make a buck on the back of Indians explains Stearn's position:

Developer: Tequesta site in downtown Miami is “hokum”

By Andres ViglucciSharply changing tack, the owners of a downtown Miami lot where the remnants of a prehistoric Tequesta Indian village have been unearthed launched an attack Thursday on the archaeologists responsible, calling their conclusions about the site “hokum” and “a joke.”

In an interview Thursday, an attorney for MDM Development Group, which plans to build a hotel and commercial project on the site, dismissed archeologists’ conclusions that hundreds of postholes carved into the bedrock at the site mark the foundations of circular dwellings and other structures that once made up a portion of a 2,000-year-old settlement at the mouth of the Miami River.

“It’s just garbage,” said Eugene Stearns, a top Miami civil lawyer. “Hokum. Made up out of whole cloth.”

Stearns’ comments, which startled preservationists and archaeologists who have studied the site, came on the eve of a Friday meeting of the city’s historic preservation board that could help decide its fate.

The lead consulting archaeologist on the site, Bob Carr, who is being paid by MDM, said Thursday he stood by his conclusions that the site is historically significant and worth preserving.

“It’s hard to respond to something so ridiculous,” Carr said, referring to Stearns’ comments.Comment:  Stearn denies the conclusions of the archaeologist he's paying for. Greed doesn't get much more blatant than that. "Your history is standing in the way of our profit, so move!"

He might as well say all Native history and culture is "hokum." That's what many Americans think and say. "Before we came, the savages were merely occupying America like animals. We took the wilderness and made it into something useful."

That Euro-Christian idea of supremacy is behind most of American history. Our country was built on the racist notion that white Western civilization knows best.

"Free dirt" offered from burial ground

Tribe Outraged at City's 'Free Dirt' Offer

By June WilliamsThe tribe claims the defendants offered the "free dirt" for landscaping projects, though state law requires stopping construction if grave goods or remains are found. But the city has a "financial incentive" to complete the project, according to the complaint.

The tribe claims that city officials knew the road project would traverse the site of an ancient village that had existed "for hundreds if not thousands of years."

The Swinomish left the village, called Tequcid, to move to their reservation in 1855, "leaving behind generations of their ancestors who were buried there," according to the complaint.

"The location and nature of Tequcid is well known and well documented," the complaint states. "Archaeologists or anthropologists documented the village and burial ground in the 1920s, 1950s, and 1980s. In 1953, the site was formally registered as a state archaeological site. In 1988, an updated state archaeological site form was prepared. Firsthand or press accounts of the presence of Indian burials at the site were made in the 1850s, 1910s, 1920s, 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s. In 1983, the Whidbey News Times published pictures of Indian burials being removed from the site after construction work along SE Pioneer Way had disturbed them."Comment:  Free dirt from Indian burial ground! Bones and relics included at no extra cost! This offer is too good to pass up, so hurry while it lasts!

I call this stereotypical because of the implication that Indian burial grounds are different from Euro-American burial grounds. That they're nothing but dirt that we can give away freely.

If you don't like the reality of thousands of Indian burial sites disrupting "progress," too bad. Don't conquer an inhabited land and expect it to be empty.

For more on burial grounds, see Indians Won't Build on Catholic Graveyard and Blame Burial Grounds for Economy?

Adena pipe is Ohio's state artifact

Ohio Names Native American Pipe Official State ArtifactIt’s been dubbed the Adena pipe and is now the official state artifact of Ohio, as soon as Gov. John Kasich signs off on it, which a spokesman says he will.

The pipe is a 2,000-year-old Native American stone tobacco pipe that was found in 1901 in a burial ground near Chillicothe.

The pipe was found after excavation of the Adena Mound, which once stood 26 feet tall on land owned by former Governor Thomas Worthington who wouldn’t allow its excavation. But when the land changed ownership, William C. Mills, curator of archaeology for what was then the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, made his move to discover the mounds’ secrets.

“The Adena Effigy Pipe is the earliest representation we have of a human in all of Ohio history or prehistory,” said Bradley T. Lepper, curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society, in a press release. “Listing the Adena Effigy Pipe as Ohio’s state artifact would honor our indigenous heritage by giving a face to the too often forgotten American Indian people who were the first Ohioans.”Comment:  For more on states designating "official" objects, see Montana Rejects Winchester as State Rifle and Arizona's State Gun Killed Indians.

Poverty Point nominated as World Heritage Site

Poverty Point nominated for World Heritage List

By Jordan BlumLouisiana’s Poverty Point State Historic Site and its ancient mounds in West Carroll Parish are officially vying for a spot on the World Heritage List that includes such famous sites as the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge and the Grand Canyon.

Outgoing U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Thursday the nomination that was prepared by the state and the National Park Service. The nomination was submitted to the World Heritage Centre in Paris. The world list includes 962 sites in 157 countries, but only 21 in the U.S.

“The Poverty Point earthworks are the remarkable legacy of a prehistoric hunter-gatherer society that existed thousands of years ago,” Salazar said in the announcement. “Designation as a World Heritage Site not only would be an honor for both Louisiana and the United States, but also would be an invitation to domestic and international travelers …”

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne said this effort has been in the works for a while and that he is “optimistic” Poverty Point will be added to the list when a final decision is made in 2014. Being the “No. 1” recommended site by the federal government certainly helps, he said.Comment:  For more on Indians and archaeology, see Cave of Blue Dolphins Woman Found and Indiana Jones's Criminally Bad Archaeology.

Cave of Blue Dolphins woman found

'Island of the Blue Dolphins' woman's cave believed found

A Navy archaeologist and his crew are digging out a cave on San Nicolas Island that seems likely to have sheltered the woman made famous by the 1960 award-winning book.

By Steve ChawkinsThe yellowing government survey map of San Nicolas Island dated from 1879, but it was quite clear: There was a big black dot on the southwest coast and, next to it, the words "Indian Cave."

For more than 20 years, Navy archaeologist Steve Schwartz searched for that cave. It was believed to be home to the island's most famous inhabitant, a Native American woman who survived on the island for 18 years, abandoned and alone, and became the inspiration for "Island of the Blue Dolphins," one of the 20th century's most popular novels for young readers.

The problem for Schwartz was that San Nicolas, a wind-raked, 22-square-mile chunk of sandstone and scrub, has few caves, all of them dank, wet hollows where the tides surge in and nobody could live for long.

Year after year, he scoured the beaches and cliffs, drilled exploratory holes, checked the old map, pored over contemporary accounts and conferred with other experts, all in vain. If he could find the cave, he could find artifacts—clues that would flesh out the real-life story that inspired Scott O'Dell to pen the 1960 novel that won the Newbery Medal and became required reading in many California schools. More than 6.5 million copies are in print and teachers frequently assign it between the fourth and seventh grades.

If he found the cave, he might solve mysteries about the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas" and her Nicoleño tribe, which was left devastated by a massacre in 1814 by sea otter hunters from Alaska.

With the help of recently unearthed notes written in a fine script by a 19th century government surveyor, Schwartz now believes he's found it.

"We're 90% sure this is the Lone Woman's cave," Schwartz told several hundred fellow researchers last week at the California Islands Symposium in Ventura. Further excavation is necessary, he said, adding that a crew of students has painstakingly removed about 40,000 buckets, or a million pounds, of sand from a cavern at least 75 feet long and 10 feet high.Cave that may have housed Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island uncovered

By Cheri CarlsonArchaeologist Steven Schwartz searched for the Lone Woman's cave on San Nicolas Island for 20 years.

The last of the native Nicoleño living on the remote island, the Lone Woman was left there when the others were taken to the mainland in 1835. She survived alone for 18 years—a story made famous in the children's book "Island of the Blue Dolphins," which is taught in elementary schools throughout the country.

Researchers believe she lived in a cave during much of the time. But covered up by decades of erosion, its location became a mystery—one of many explored Thursday at the California Islands symposium in Ventura.

Schwartz, who is with Naval Air Systems Command, searched through old survey maps, uncovered clues and hiked again and again to a spot on the island that looked just right for a cave. But each time he dug into the sandstone, he came up empty.

"I'd get really depressed. I'd go back, think about it, and go, 'No. I got to try again. I got to try again.' This was dozens of times," Schwartz said Thursday during a break at the three-day symposium held by the National Park Service and other agencies and groups.

Two years ago, he got his breakthrough. A professor from Northern California contacted him and had field notes for those 1800-era maps. In them, he found a description of the Lone Woman's cave, right where he thought it had been.

A team of volunteers, backbreaking work and 40,000 buckets of sand later, Schwartz found his cave. The huge space stretches 75 feet back from the entrance and appears to go even farther, he said.Comment:  For more on Island of the Blue Dolphins, see Bestselling Native Children's Books and Indians in Top 100 Children's Novels.

Indiana Jones's criminally bad archaeology

Long-time readers know I criticized Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when it came out in 2008. Indeed, I criticized all the Indiana Jones movies for their portrayal of indigenous people and the archaeologist's relationship to them.

This posting makes some of the same points in a humorous way:

Back from Yet Another Globetrotting Adventure, Indiana Jones Checks His Mail and Discovers That His Bid for Tenure Has Been Denied.

By Andy BryanJanuary 22, 1939

Assistant Professor Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr.
Department of Anthropology
Chapman Hall 227B
Marshall College

Dr. Jones:

As chairman of the Committee on Promotion and Tenure, I regret to inform you that your recent application for tenure has been denied by a vote of 6 to 1. Following past policies and procedures, proceedings from the committee’s deliberations that were pertinent to our decision have been summarized below according to the assessment criteria.

Demonstrates suitable experience and expertise in chosen field:

The committee concurred that Dr. Jones does seem to possess a nearly superhuman breadth of linguistic knowledge and an uncanny familiarity with the history and material culture of the occult. However, his understanding and practice of archaeology gave the committee the greatest cause for alarm. Criticisms of Dr. Jones ranged from “possessing a perceptible methodological deficiency” to “practicing archaeology with a complete lack of, disregard for, and colossal ignorance of current methodology, theory, and ethics” to “unabashed grave-robbing.” Given such appraisals, perhaps it isn’t surprising to learn that several Central and South American countries recently assembled to enact legislation aimed at permanently prohibiting his entry.

Moreover, no one on the committee can identify who or what instilled Dr. Jones with the belief that an archaeologist’s tool kit should consist solely of a bullwhip and a revolver.

Nationally recognized for an effectual program of scholarship or research supported by publications of high quality:

Though Dr. Jones conducts “field research” far more often than anyone else in the department, he has consistently failed to report the results of his excavations, provide any credible evidence of attending the archaeological conferences he claims to attend, or produce a single published article in any peer-reviewed journal. Someone might tell Dr. Jones that in academia “publish or perish” is the rule. Shockingly, there is little evidence to date that Dr. Jones has successfully excavated even one object since he arrived at Marshall College. Marcus Brody, curator of our natural-history museum, assured me this was not so and graciously pointed out several pieces in the collection that he claimed were procured through Dr. Jones’s efforts, but, quite frankly, we have not one shred of documentation that can demonstrate the provenance or legal ownership of these objects.

Meets professional standards of conduct in research and professional activities of the discipline:

The committee was particularly generous (and vociferous) in offering their opinions regarding this criterion. Permit me to list just a few of the more troubling accounts I was privy to during the committee’s meeting. Far more times than I would care to mention, the name “Indiana Jones” (the adopted title Dr. Jones insists on being called) has appeared in governmental reports linking him to the Nazi Party, black-market antiquities dealers, underground cults, human sacrifice, Indian child slave labor, and the Chinese mafia. There are a plethora of international criminal charges against Dr. Jones, which include but are not limited to: bringing unregistered weapons into and out of the country; property damage; desecration of national and historical landmarks; impersonating officials; arson; grand theft (automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, and watercraft in just a one week span last year); excavating without a permit; countless antiquities violations; public endangerment; voluntary and involuntary manslaughter; and, allegedly, murder.Comment:  Academic standards were laxer in 1939. These days, Jones wouldn't just be denied tenure. He'd be kicked out of the school and academia as a whole if he committed one-tenth of these offenses.

For more on the subject, see Indiana Jones and the Stereotypes of Doom.

Kincaid Mounds vandalized

Native Burial Mounds Vandalized in Southern Illinois in Possible Attempt to Steal ‘Grave Goods’The Evansville Courier & Press is reporting that the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Massac County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the recent looting and ATV or truck damage at Kincaid Mounds. The mounds are a series of prehistoric American Indian burial mounds in rural Pope and Massac counties.

Small holes were dug into one of the burial mounds by one or more people looking for what are known as ‘grave goods,’ items that were buried along with the dead. The mounds consist of 105 acres that have been designated a National Historic Landmark and the site is on the National Register of Historic Places of the United States. They are believed to be between 1000 and 700 years old. Kincaid Mounds consist of nine mounds, which include burial mounds and large platform mounds, and portions of a village site. The area represents the earliest part of Southern Illinois to develop intensive, large scale agriculture.

“The criminal disturbance of these human burials in Kincaid Mounds is unconscionable,” Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Director Amy Martin said to the Courier & Press. “We hope to apprehend those who are responsible, which will serve as a deterrent to others who may be considering the desecration of our state’s heritage.”

Authorities are not sure whether any artifacts or human remains were removed. This is not the first time Kincaid Mounds have been targeted—vandals struck in 2008.

There is also evidence that someone drove a four-wheeler or a truck over one of the mounds. All-terrain vehicles are prohibited at the Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site.

If caught, those responsible can face up to three years in prison and fines more than $100,000. Anyone with information on the Kincaid Mounds looting or four wheeler damage is asked to call the Massac County Sheriff’s Department at 618-524-2912 or the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency at 217-558-8973.Comment:  Usually the punishment for these isn't enough, but three years and $100,000 isn't bad. But I'd make that the minimum rather than the maximum. We need to start penalizing people until it hurts badly enough to deter future destruction.

For more on archaeological looting, see "Digger" Shows Promote Archaeological Looting and Looters Don't Go to Jail.

Maya mural contradicts "doomsday" myth

Maya calendar workshop documents time beyond 2012

By Alan BoyleArchaeologists have found a stunning array of 1,200-year-old Maya paintings in a room that appears to have been a workshop for calendar scribes and priests, with numerical markings on the wall that denote intervals of time well beyond the controversial cycle that runs out this December.

For years, prophets of doom have been saying that we're in for an apocalypse on Dec. 21, 2012, because that marks the end of the Maya "Long Count" calendar, which was based on a cycle of 13 intervals known as "baktuns," each lasting 144,000 days. But the researchers behind the latest find, detailed in the journal Science and an upcoming issue of National Geographic, say the writing on the wall runs counter to that bogus belief.

"It's very clear that the 2012 date, this end of 13 baktuns, while important, was turning the page," David Stuart, an expert on Maya hieroglyphs at the University of Texas at Austin, told reporters today. "Baktun 14 was going to be coming, and Baktun 15 and Baktun 16. ... The Maya calendar is going to keep going, and keep going for billions, trillions, octillions of years into the future."

The current focus of the research project, led by Boston University's William Saturno, is a 6-by-6-foot room situated beneath a mound at the Xultun archaeological site in Guatemala's Peten region. Maxwell Chamberlain, a BU student participating in the excavations there, happened to notice a poorly preserved wall protruding from a trench that was previously dug by looters, with the hints of a painting on the plaster.

Unprecedented Maya Mural Found, Contradicts 2012 "Doomsday" Myth

Under the Guatemalan jungle, 1,200-year-old paintings like no others.

By Erik Vance[W]hat was really interesting was what the team found next.

Working with epigrapher David Stuart and archaeologist and artist Heather Hurst, the researchers noticed several barely visible hieroglyphic texts, painted and etched along the east and north walls of the room.

One is a lunar table, and the other is a "ring number"—something previously known only from much later Maya books, where it was used as part of a backward calculation in establishing a base date for planetary cycles. Nearby is a sequence of numbered intervals corresponding to key calendrical and planetary cycles.

The calculations include dates some 7,000 years in the future, adding to evidence against the idea that the Maya thought the world would end in 2012—a modern myth inspired by an ancient calendar that depicts time starting over this year.Comment:  For more on the 2012 predictions, see Maya Teleconference Debunks 2012 "Apocalypse" and "Mayan Apocalypse" in Chevrolet Commercial.

Indian marker trees

Trees Bent By American Indians Being Identified and Preserved“If they could talk, the stories they could tell,” Steve Houser, an arborist and founding member of the Dallas Historic Tree Coalition, told the Associated Press. The trees, he said, “were like an early road map” for American Indians.

The trees are known as Indian marker trees or trail trees and were bent by Native Americans in their youth to mark trails or other landmarks, like a creek crossing.

Houser’s mission: to protect the historic trees and their stories. The group has identified four marker trees and is looking into reports of 32 more across Texas.

Groups like Houser’s are popping up across the country to protect and maintain the trees.

Mountain Stewards, a nonprofit based in Jasper, Georgia has compiled a database of 1,850 marker trees in 39 states, reported the AP.Comment:  Rock art also served Indians as a natural sort of guidepost. For more on that subject, see The Hopi's "Newspaper Rock."

Below:  "These images from the Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society show a typical burr oak (left), a single trunk trail marker tree (middle) and a double trunk trail marker tree with the group’s founder Dennis Downes." (Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society)

"Digger" shows promote archaeological looting

'Diggers,' 'American Digger' TV Shows Said To Promote Looting Of Archaeological SitesArchaeologists are mounting a campaign against two new cable TV shows that they say encourage and glamorize looting of American archaeological sites.

On 20 March, Spike TV will premiere a new show called American Digger, while a show called Diggers on the National Geographic Channel made its debut 28 February. Both shows "promote and glorify the looting and destruction of archaeological sites," Society for American Archaeology (SAA) President William F. Limp wrote in a message posted earlier this week to the SAA listserv.

The premise of American Digger, which is being hosted by a former professional wrestler, was laid out in a recent announcement by Spike TV. A team of "diggers" will "scour target-rich areas, such as battlefields and historic sites, in hopes of striking it rich by unearthing and selling rare pieces of American history." Similar locales are featured in National Geographic's Diggers. In the second episode, set in South Carolina, Revolutionary War and War of 1812 buttons, bullets, and coins were recovered at a former plantation.

After viewing the first two episodes of Diggers, Iowa's State archaeologist John Doershuk posted a review to the American Cultural Resources Association listserv, in which he lamented: "The most damaging thing, I think, about this show is that no effort was made to document where anything came from or discussion of associations—each discovered item was handled piece-meal."

"It was ironic that they [the show's on-air diggers] are destroying the entire basis of what they're interested in," Doershuk told Science Insider by phone. "These are non-renewable sources. There's only so many of them from these time periods."Comment:  For more on archaeological looting, see Looters Vow to Keep Looting and Pay-to-Dig Archaeology.