Out West

Pesharim - Out West


Interesting archaeological and anthropological news:



Stolen artifacts shatter ancient culture

Looters ravage Indian ruins to sell pottery, heirlooms on black market

Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

SAN CARLOS - In the dead of night, looters are destroying the history of America, desecrating sacred Indian ruins.An estimated 80 percent of the nation's ancient archaeological sites have been plundered or robbed by shovel-toting looters. Though some of the pillaging is done by amateurs who don't know any better, more serious damage is wrought by professionals who dig deep, sometimes even using backhoes. The motive is money. Indian artifacts are coveted worldwide by collectors willing to pay for trophy pieces of the past. Fine antiquities are displayed in glass cases at mansions and museums. Lesser objects wind up on fireplace mantels or stored in garages.

Looters are just the first link in a chain that includes collectors, galleries, trade shows and Internet sites such as eBay. But stopping the black-market business is virtually impossible because of a lack of manpower for enforcement and loopholes in the law that make it hard to convict the few who get caught.

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My Kinda Museum:


'Pretty spectacular': Museum reopens

Accolades, music fill expanded venue's halls

Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

The usually hushed halls of the Phoenix Art Museum were abuzz with music and activity Saturday as the public got its first peek at the institution's $50 million expansion.Thousands entered through the museum's new sweeping glass-encased lobby, and more are expected today during the Go! Weekend Grand Opening Celebration. Admission is free.On Saturday, attendees lingered among the museum's new spaces, including a four-level modern art wing, canopied entry plaza, 1-acre Dorrance Sculpture Garden and expanded Museum store. Musicians played melodies in each wing, the songs twinkling above patrons' enthusiastic chatter.
"It's pretty spectacular," said Lisa McCreary of Peoria. "It's nice to see so many community people out. Being from Chicago, I miss that."Shawn McDaniel rounded a corner and looked up at a towering bronze, his eyes widening. The 7-year-old walked around the piece, studying the myriad buffalo running down a crag from a lone Indian, a spear in hand."It's so big," Shawn said.Paces away, Alex Cheroske held his 2-year-old son, A.J., and moved from piece to piece. They stopped at a painting featuring a man crouching in the desert and pointing a sword at a coiled snake."Look at this rattlesnake," Cheroske told his son, who repeated the name of the reptile.

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