California's NAGPRA - No longer requires return of Funerary/Cultural Artifacts

[highsierra]

Back in the '50s and '60s, when I was a kid, we used to go to disturbed sites and dig for artifacts and, God forbid, bones. Many mounds were destroyed for development and by agricultural practices and not a soul gave a rat's patootie. I filled the newspaper bag on my bike with all sorts of stuff, including skulls. Mom had a fit when the piano had skulls on it and made us take them away. I loaned a bunch of the goods to the Indian Museum and lost them forever. The worst was my collection of long Stockton points and knives. Killer Salmon knives with huge exaggerated serrations that I know were stolen by employees. None ever came back to me, despite my pleas for their return. The State claimed that they were misplaced, My arse they were. Don't EVER loan anything to any museum!

[David Crain]

Originally Posted by dollarcreek

Buckeye Knoll was an example of political correct stupidity. It made me furious also. I still don't know if we even have pictures of what was found, and if so, can we see them??

I recently saw the cast at the Museum of the Coastal Bend at U of H Victoria. I asked if I could take pictures but they promised the "Lipan Apache Band of Texas" that they would not allow photography of the cast. Glancing over my shoulder without seeing any Apaches, I was somewhat tempted to sneak a quick photo or two but resisted the urge.

It is a neat display even if it is only cast of the actual items. There are lots of extra nice Texas Waco's and a couple of Mid-west style winged bannerstone as well as some exagerated flint pieces.

The Buckey Knoll site was long occupied, but it was only used for extensive mortuary purposes for a limited time during the Early Archaic, about 7000 YBP. Even so, it is by far the largest graveyard known of that great age and there are still a lot of undisturbed burials left there to be studied by my grandkid's generation, who already seems to be more practically minded than my own generation is.

Buckeye Knoll at www.texasbeyondhistory.net

I would encourage anyone in the Victoria area to stop by the Museum, lots of neat exhibits there in addition to this one.

(Sorry for getting off subject, good news on the better legalities regarding California's NAGPRA)

[Aboman]

OMG, what kind of yahoos are running that museum, that will pc kiss-butt of some tribe that may or may not be kin to the makers of the original tool, by not allowing photography of a CAST???? It is PLASTIC!!
That is beyond political correctness- that is political stupidity!