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Greg Haverstock/Bureau of Land Management
An area in the Volcanic Tableland in eastern California where thieves apparently attempted to carve out a petroglyph and then decided to move on without it. They ultimately extracted six slabs with the ancient images, and damaged many of the others in between with their equipment.
Thieves apparently armed with power saws, ladders, generators and other heavy equipment gouged out ancient petroglyphs etched into the volcanic stone landscape in eastern California, removing six and damaging dozens of the carvings, which are sacred to the Paiute tribe, according to a tribal member and government archaeologist.
"This is by far the worst example of vandalism in my career in my field office," said Greg Haverstock, archaeologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Bishop, Calif., about 150 miles due east of San Jose. "I think it’s akin to someone going and cutting pieces out of the Wailing Wall."
The Bishop office of the federal bureau oversees 750,000 acres of public lands in the Eastern Sierra mountain range, near the California-Nevada border. On what is called the Volcanic Tablelands, there are hundreds of rock art sites that date back more than 3,000 years, and tens of thousands of archaeological sites, Haverstock said.
Some of the carvings are recognizable representations of hunters, big horn sheep, lizards and deer. Others are geometric designs and other symbols, with meanings that have been lost to history. The Paiute see the carvings as a window into the souls of their ancestors.
"These petroglyphs — in our language, rock writings — are held sacred to the people here," said Raymond Andrews, a Paiute who serves as the tribal historical preservation officer for the Bishop area. "Our ancestors etched messages in them, so they are sacred... People go and pray to them and try to seek guidance."
The remote area is largely open to tourists, but Andrews said the bureau will close off the roads to rock-writing sites from time to time to ensure privacy for Paiute ceremonial functions. The damage was discovered Oct. 31 by a volunteer in the Bishop stewardship program, who periodically visits the site and reports any change or problem.
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The thieves left scars along a 650-foot cliff band, according to Haverstock, with petroglyph panels as large as 20-by-40-by-6 inches extracted, and many of the carvings in between apparently damaged by the equipment. Some slabs of stone were sawed off 15 feet above the ground.
"We’ve had a few (petroglyphs) taken in the past — sawed away — but not on such a massive scale like this," said Andrews. "Usually it’s been like one. Or there’s like someone who wants to add a little more to the petroglyphs, not knowing they are desecrating them."
Greg Haverstock/Bureau of Land Management
One of the sites where thieves apparently sawed through the rock to remove a petroglyph considered sacred to the local Paiute tribe. The rock etchings are thought to be more than 3,000 years old.
Haverstock said that there is an illicit market for any archaeological relic, and the rock carvings are no exception, but he said the dollar value is only in the $500-$1,500 range per piece.
The bureau has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to arrests in the theft of the artifacts, which is a felony.
Even if the missing carvings are recovered, there’s no way to adequately repair the irreplaceable, so the bureau may use the damaged site to highlight the importance of historic preservation, Haverstock said.
"Like (other) indigenous groups, we believe in karma," said Andrews. "Something is going to happen. We can try to investigate, but some things are out of our hands."
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Leave a Comment:
Where could you possibly sell something that big and unique without being caught or traced?
Simple. It's sold into a private collection.
Most likely, the thief was fulfilling an order from a buyer.
Private Market, Black Market, Private Website/server only known by few, etc.
It's common sense.
Plus they're just rocks with carvings in them. That's why we have a thing called TECHNOLOGY now a days. And with TECHNOLOGY we can take PICTURES which LAST FOREVER unlike a rock which can be broken into pieces and destroyed.
Right, right... yea, okay... I'm sure something that's been there for over 3,000 years is MUCH safer in the hands of a form of technology that's only been around in a practical sense for about 150 years...
It is obscene. Seriously obscene.
Asia
Technology in it's many forms is much safer than having to worry about preserving the rock forever. You can simply print the picture, keep it on a flash drive, transfer it and copy as many times. It is in fact much safer, that way many people can be called thieves for taking rock pictures off the internet.
But that is free enterprise! Government regulations like forbiding stealing artifacts are only a "big government" way of keeping hard-working artifact hunters from their work. We need more people taking personal responsibility and doing the hard work of sawing out those valuables. After all, Indians are sub-human and are just leaving these things lying around. The artifact hunters are just seeking to preserve them so that they can be enjoyed by weathy southern white men and not by just a bunch of shiftless lazy Indians.
Chris, what does wealthy southern white men have to do with stealing western indian artifacts? Man are you really that _____________— . Fill in the blank as i'm a southern white man & I have no interest at all in indian artifacts. More than likely some California hippies that wanted them.
I hope that they catch the a-holes responsible for this desecration. It is almost certain that these items were stolen to order, so I hope that they not only catch the actual thieves, but the buyer as well. They all deserve to spend a long time in prison for what they have done. It is unbelievable that anyone could be so selfish as to want to buy something like this that they could never even tell anyone they had because they would be prosecuted. They deprive everyone else of ever having the opportunity to see these things. They are also destroying sites that are considered sacred by the native American people who live in the area. They simply want to have these pieces so that they, and they alone can take it out and look at once in a while. This is unconscionable. Unfortunately, this damage can never be undone and that is the biggest shame of all. These sites are now gone forever because of a few people's greed and self importance.
Just set up a sting..they be on Ebay or Craigslist soon.
stc1993 - I grew up in the deep south in the 50s and 60s and you're an idiot if you think "hippies" stole those carvings. Most likely some ruthless sob who has no conscience and knows how to use heavy equipment, given how far off the ground some of them were.
Schmerz...
Someone's going to steal your gravestone. Better take a picture of it, quick, so your great-grandchildren will know you really existed.
Hey man, crack kills! Put down the pipe... There's no southern white boogie man, LMAO!
Chill, everyone! Chris is being sarcastic.
laughingcat, didn't yall even read the story this was in eastern california. It doesn't have a thing to do with the south. My reference to hippies was just showing how far fetched Chris was in blaming it on southeners was. Unless he meant southern Californians.
"Karma" in this case may well be Paiute retribution; such as staking the perpetrators to ant hills in the desert!
(That's always a good one. Tends to really focus ones attention and allow them to concentrate on where their life went astray).
Some humans with life spans of less than 100 years destroy thousands of years of human culture. I t calls us to stand up for respect of others' cultures & beliefs.
Apparently, we have Taliban living in our country too. You probably won't find the missing artifacts, because, like someone has already said, there in that person's private collection in a vault below ground. Only fanatical art collectors can afford such extravagance to hide booty. I would not be shock if it was some Professor in Native American History who was involved, or foreign art collector. Take you pick, it is still desecration to do such a foul act. I would compare that to someone stealing the Declaration of Independence for their private collection. That document is our identity that determined our destiny. So, I think an example within the legal system should be made of such a person. Let's say 30 years at hard labor before parole is allowed.
Uh, no.
He said "there is an illicit market for any archeological relic".
Where does NBC find these writers?
Dragonmaster I won't have to worry about people stealing my gravestone, it's going to be a big statue just saying. And even so if they want a statue they can have it. It'll be a big statue of ME!
what I want to know is where was the tribal police. it's not easy to drive in there and they would have been there for hours with granite saws making alot of noise and dust, which would like smoke, this a remote area that can be seen for miles and some idiots with 4 wheel drives get in there and ruin ancient carvings ...unbelievable...
well this sucks, hope they catch the thief's
Turn over the thieves to the tribe these belong to. I don't care to know what they do to them. Let their punishment be 100 times worse than the crime. I would like to see their bones in 3000 years next to the crime.
I don't seem to remember anyone asking my permission when the indians carved out their casino in Niagara Falls.
Rather odd concept to claim ownership over that which they believed could never be owned, because it was always there.
Maybe we are just talking about proprietary rights, and intellectual property, and fully realize the respects offered by the conquered peoples.
Anyone else ready for a reality check?
LET'S ALL ASK THE PAIUTE. Maybe they can clue us in on some missing mail?
The land is under the control of the national park service, not the interior or on a reservation. hundreds of square miles and a diamond blade against limestone or volcanic stuff... no one would have been around to catch them. Even so, anyone hiking around seeing some construction kind of work going on would have probably just moved along thinking it was normal activity. Thats a bunch of square miles. just an FYI.
They're rocks. Get over it. Yes, history has been vandalized but we already have the information we could glean from it. This religious/culture bias on icons is so medieval.
My sympathy to the Paiute Nation... one more time white men take from us what is sacred, leaving only scars on our land... shame on their greed... may the Ancestors forgive them...
The very worst part about this is that even if you catch the criminals, even if they get their just deserts, what they did can not be undone. These criminals are no better than the Taliban taking down those beautiful carvings (Budist?) several years ago.
So you're saying that as long as we have a picture of the Mona Lisa, or the Sistine Chapel ceiling, we could then be able to destroy them and not lose anything by it?
Aside from the fact that so much more can be learned by studying the original artifact (ever try carbon-dating a object from its picture?) it's an insult to the original creator(s).
So you'd also be OK with someone coming to the cemetery where your grandparents are buried, digging them up, and putting them on display in some "collector's" living room?
So, hippies from the deep south stole those artifacts?
Severed Head, that's not a very good example. They are dead, who cares what happens to their bodies once their souls leave them? People can do what they want with my body once I'm dead. Cut it up for science, feed it to the crocs, make it into an art exhibit, or whatever you want to do.
IMHO, they ruined some very important cultural artifacts that could tell us a lot about the past. We can't carbon date a picture, and who knows what new technologies we could come up with later that may have given us more information about this site?
Actually Severed Head, I would not care in the least if someone dug up my grandparent's graves or my dad's grave and did anything they want with the bodies. See, they are dead now and the shell of what they were is entirely useless - what I have are the memories and lessons they taught me. If I feel the need to 'talk' to them, well, I can do that anywhere and don't need to go to a cemetary for some macabre worship over a rotting body.
While I do understand that some people 'need' some sort of burial ground to worship, I find it a waste of precious space and some weird left-over worship of the dead from some old time.
I'm not religious and am even more confused by anyone who is religious being buried or visiting a buried dead, useless body - if one believes the soul leaves the body at death and that the soul is the everlasting part, why would one need the body to 'visit'?
I see these artifacts as much more precious to those that 'worshipped' them than a dead body ever could be - this is actually a cultural and historical preserved piece.
Tribal police? Are you serious? Who would have thought that something carved into granite thousands of years ago ran a risk of being sand blasted and stolen? Oh, wait a minute, the Taliban blew up the monoliths in Afghanistan ~ used them for target practice. But then again, they're in a class all by themselves. It's pretty sad that everything and everyone needs to be protected from some SOBs who feel they can take, use, mar, destroy anything just because they can.
Imagine that someone cut the heads off of the Pieta in Rome and sold them for profit. Or cut Christian relics from the Selphucure or the Church of the Nativity in the holy land. How about someone cut some of the Parthenon, or other cultural heritage site?
Such a desecration is beyond greed. This is evil. I hope the criminals are caught and brought to the tribe for justice.
Furthermore, whoever paid them to do this is even more to blame. If the buyers are ever caught they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent, and then be given to the tribe for their judgement.
Let's not blame all the Cultural theft or damage by villains of today. thefts from the old world are just as bad or even worse.
Egyptian grave robbers ... financed, Other Pirates who Raped Greece of it Treasures, "The Elgin Marbles" being one of the most notable.
Which is worse -the thieves who continue to desecrate this historical sites or Rich villains who are the market for these thefts?
Heavens, That is why it is called a "Black Market".
A terrible attack on history and the Paiute tribe.
It is discusting to all my fellow Indian brothers and sisters....Things like this are our history they are so sacred and for some to do this is just heartbreaking...Kinda like digging up a grave....=(
It's really disgusting that someone would do this to a sacred site that can never be replaced. It was planned from the start as they had to have generators & power tools to do this. I hope they catch them and charge them with federal crimes.
I want to cry. I am so sorry for the Paiute...
It is also disgusting for many of your non-Indian brothers and sisters. I don't care where your great (*x) grandparents came from, something this old and historic belongs to no one specific person, and should be treasured by, all of humanity. The fact that somebody did this is just reprehensible. It would be akin to somebody going to the cave paintings in France with saws to cut them out.
Atrocious!
As part Cherokee I see places where our Ancestors lived as sacred, and the signs they left for us as being alive. We should hide such signs (as some Nations have already done) because they are temptation to the greedy people.
Just make more carvings. There is plenty of rock to go around. Problem solved. These guys have nothing better to do with their time anyway.
Way to publicly show your idiocy joey.
*spit*
Your Ignorance is showing, Joe
If someone smashed Plymouth Rock to bits, would you say: "Just get another one, there are lots of big rocks to take its place" ? Sheesh.
Real classy Joe. I guess you are capable of similar acts without feeling guilt or remorse?
Joe, dude. Got any letters from your Gram I can slice up? They are just words, there's plenty of those to go around for sure.
What guys are you referring to, the vandals?
Things like that are etchings from ancient times. This is about "time", something real with depth and contour frozen in time, (the beauty of stone), it's like bringing the physics of time into tactile terms.
You get that Joe?
Well, there's no real proof the passengers on the Mayflower ever stepped on that rock, not to mention they landed on Cape Cod first, and in the past people did chip off bits for souvenirs which is why they built that viewing platform around it.
Hey Joe-ker? How much did you sell those carvings for?...Karma is coming for you
And Joe is not being sarcastic. He's just showing his butt.
Perhaps they needed money because of a gambling problem? People will steal wires from street lights, and in this case "bolting" it down would have done little.
As a wise tourist once said......Why did they build the ruins and write on the rocks so far from the freeway?
The article refers to power tools and heavy equipment. Trucks. Sort of a large scale operation. Bolting it down? Its attached to a MOUNTAIN.
Gambling problem? Really?
It's as though someone went to a medieval Christian church and sawed out the stained glass windows! Or like the Taliban blasting away the statues of Buddha at Bamiyan! Senseless destruction and greed. Machinery in the hands of ignorant fools.
Or it could be related to Christians destroying and defacing hundreds of Roman, Bacchanal, Druid, Jewish, and Pagan artifacts/people.
Its happening all over the country ! Distruction of sacred items, cemeteries, monuments. Tore down stones in a cemetery back east a few weeks ago.Happened in a town 20 miles from me. Very Sad but I do believe in Karma and it will bight them in the butts. I pray for it !! This was terrible and then to tear up more and then leave them. I wish you all luck in finding the people and repairing the damage. Take care.
riverboy21 - Absolutely. But let's not allow the ignorance, or stupidity, of the past be an excuse for the present.
A measly $1000 reward for the desecration of a Sacred site. What an insult.
Exact;y! I think we should start a fund raising for the return or as a reward for capture of those who took them.
It is easy to see the type of oportunistic goons that would do this kind of thing. I believe it is a symptom of a larger problem. Lack of Reverence. To the people who took this is just like the Free thinkers/ Athiests. They not only see God as a farce but anyone who believes in religion is just "backwater". To them it was just a carving to be sold to someone who deems it valuable but they themselves have a utter disdain for anything religious.
"Whats the big deal... it's just rocks, carving, a monument, a Cross, etc." "It means nothing to the educated, progressive thinker."
Look no one is asking someone to agree with a religious point of view but everyone's (faith) should be respected within the realms of law and common sense. Those who done this should be ashamed of themselves But God sees all.. It is my sincere hope that they return the artifacts:
God Knows.
I have written this before...I truly believe grave robbing on a large scale is next to happen in this country...
@ L in Princeton ... I hope your wrong... but I'm afraid there is a lot of truth in your statement.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/vandals-overturn-gravestones-in-jewish-cemetary/
I'm sure if you are that concerned you could add to that amount. Please, don't be insulting and make it a large amount.
When they catch them - they should be stoned.
With California mountain grown. (J/K)
They are probably gettting stoned right now, with the profits from their thefts.
To my Paiute brothers and sisters:
Should these sacred pieces never return, I hope you will always remember them and pass along the history to your grandchldren. Write down what happened, keep photos and news articles in a safe place; somewhere so they will never be destroyed. It is very important to pass this knowledge to future generations.
YahTay
Perfectly said!
hi agedsteak, aged stick speaking :) here. History is best told by the bystander and the conquered. The conquerers version will be corrupted.
I believe, that is why it is important for all to preserve, the pictures and the writings of all of our times.
Great books about our past were put together through old diaries and photos and journals that recorded what was going on. It is always up to the descendants of the past to interpret and learn from what we read and see.
If they catch these people they should be buried up to their necks and have honey poured on their heads. Then we let nature take its course.
Did somebody actually steal that peace sign in the cover photo?
$500 to $1500 doesn't sound like much, but to somebody who is starving and can't feed their family, desperation sits in and stuff like this happens. This is what happens when you have more people in a country that have jobs and a leader that does nothing to make them work. Alot easier to steal than to work.
You are right m--if we don't have a republican majority in the administration, we should just give up on morality and hack up sacred objects. It's all Obama's fault? PLEASE GIVE ME A BREAK.
"somebody who is starving", ghee wiz, you have poor reading comprehension! The equipment do do this cost more than the carving they stole. somebody who is starving????
Yeah, I could eat for like 25 years on what a portable masonry saw and generator costs. Still though, it has to be Obama's fault somehow..... I bet he's the black market buyer that commissioned people to do this!
Vandalism happens everyday around the World. It happens because people are crass, despicable, uncaring, hateful, sick, greedy and don't care. It's sad these type of things happen. To destroy History is right below murder. I hope these perpetrators are caught and The Paiute Tribe prosecutes to the highest degree.
Someone got a new patio! Bastards!
"Elicit"? Really?
Yeah. My thought, too. C'mon, guys, learn some basic vocabulary.
M,
Get a life
Many years in prison for the thieves and the BUYERS.
Wasn't it the Taliban that blew up those Ancient Buddhist mountain carvings in Afghanistan?
People have no fekking cuth.
This made me feel ill. I've been there and it's beautiful. The rock art has been standing for 3,000 years until these immoral psychopaths decide to desecrate a sacred site for a few bucks. I hope they catch them. I bet the rocks could be restored--I've seen archaeologists glue back together vases that had been shattered into bits. There are techniques and materials that could be used for filling in the cut and damaged areas to make them look like the rock. I'd restore it.
I mean restored if the pieces can be recovered that is. :(
"Elicit"? Really?
Hope they catch them.
Hey Joe-ker? How much did you sell those carvings for?...Karma is coming for you!
There really is something wrong with people!
Humans really don't have any redeeming qualities. Most pathetic, round 'em up and execute the bastards!