[Abert]

Article on theft near Moab. I sometimes wonder how there's anything ancient (human and natural) left to see. And how much more there would be if people would just keep their hands off things.

[Kasey³]

I heard he left pictures.

[Alpendave]

[wolffie]

Many of the artifacts at Blanding's Edge of the Cedars Museum were, I believe, recovered from criminal pothunters. They convicted one infamous looter by digging his cigarette butts out of his spoils pile -- they knew this guy -- that was back when DNA forensics was new. As a matter of fact, there isn't much left to see. Even the potshards are disappearing. We were stopped and interrogated by the Ute tribal police patrol once -- nice to know somebody's trying to enforce the law -- the previous day, we had observed a looted grave -- human skull bones dug up and just left. I once found a 1kg limestone hatchet/hammer/tomahawk. It had been pecked and narrowed in the middle, to be hafted to a handle; once somebody's prized tool. It had been left in a conspicuous spot by previous visitors, but I suppose it has been since stolen. I asked the BLM archaeologist at Blanding what's the best course of action with something like that, and he did suggest that if its's already been disturbed, hiding an artificat in a safe place may not be unreasonable ("...not everything has to end up in museums"). Collectors and looters are stinky people. Brother Cain again.