Finders Keepers

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yuccahead
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Finders Keepers

Post by yuccahead »

Finders Keepers is a new book by Craig Childs. In this one he deals with artifact collectors, pothunters, etc. in the USA as well as around the world. Childs is a fine writer, no doubt about that, and he presents both sides of artifact hunting/collecting, talking with museum curators and pothunters alike. He asks a lot of questions about whose looking for and finding these artifacts, whose selling and whose buying and whose going to jail.
It's pretty obvious he favors leaving everything in place but he admits to things he's collected on his own and even stolen from a museum to return an artifact to a place. If nothing else this book will make you think twice about the next arrowhead you find - no matter what you decide to do with it.
Highly reccomended.

http://www.amazon.com/Finders-Keepers-A ... 860&sr=1-1
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reptilist
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by reptilist »

Thanks for the heads up Rick, I'll look for it the next time I go to town!
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yuccahead
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by yuccahead »

I had the pleasure of hearing Craig Childs speak and present a slide show last night. He's in town giving a couple of writing seminars but his talk last night was free and open to the public.
His presentation was built around his book, The Secret Knowledge of Water and he discussed water in the desert - where it comes from, where it's going, what it's doing, how it moves and how he believes it's the trickster of the desert.
I had been looking forward to last evening for several weeks and wasn't disappointed. The small room in the library was packed with more than a hundered people. He began with a solo performance on a wooden Native American flute and the evening just got better and better.
I can hardly remember a more enjoyable night out.
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silent hunter
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by silent hunter »

I leave everything in it's place as well. I have seen in one spot enoff artifacts to make ten men rich. When I was young I had seen a greedy man destroy a bunch of beautiful pots of all sort's with a bulldozer he rented. That day I made up my own mind. I would never take another person to any location I have came across. I do have photo's of all my finds over the years.

Best Wishes
Kurt Painter
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by LDMGOLD »

When it comes to Native American buried artifacts we have no ethical right to remove them from public or private property. However there is no law prohibiting the removal Native American artifacts from private property. I have found caves with pots, arrowheads, human bones, and other things that have not been disturbed since being placed there. Native American sites and natural sites of beauty are so often vandalized and destroyed by the general public. Like many other who have lived in the desert and found interesting things I just don't share the locations. Several decades ago I did share the location of a given site and within ten years it was totally destroyed. The irony of revealing significant historical or Native American sites to your trusted friend he will eventually tell someone else and he has to tell someone else. Soon the site is general information. If I even mention a site and nobody believes me I am pleased. Kurt I am proud of you if you don't show anyone your secrets, not even your best friends. Friends can always become enemies and their goes your secret. For this reason the "Cave of Thousand Eyes" is still in pristine condition.

Take care,

Tom K.
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Guz
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by Guz »

Do you guys avoid telling the Indian tribes these artifacts are associated with as well? I know some of the local tribal members around here and I wouldn't say anything. 1 pot might make it the museum, the rest would be on ebay. Seems to me to be a slippery slope. Who can you trust? The downside is at some point someone else will find what you have found and may not hold the respect we have for these native artifacts. I too have seen first hand vandalism at spots I held to be sacred. So,Who WOULD you tell? I understand where you guys are coming from when you answer "no-one" but is that in the best interest of the preservation of history?



Before I get flamed here I just want to say when I hike the only things I remove are other's trash. (no, not native artifacts etc etc) Just thought I'd pose a couple questions to see what you folks think.


Guz
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by reptilist »

You are a great bunch of fellows!
:D
So much personal honor!
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yuccahead
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by yuccahead »

Guz wrote: The downside is at some point someone else will find what you have found and may not hold the respect we have for these native artifacts.

Guz
My thought on this is - let the disrespect and subsequent karma be on someone elses hands and conscience, not yours.
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by Sal »

for me, the essence of energy I imagine is still embodied within some artifacts is the attraction to collecting and displaying them.

I have had some Indian artifacts given to me by folks who dug them up. One was a stone donut found when excavating a well, the other was a ceremonial arrowhead...I don't know where it came from originally. It became known in the small town of San Ignacio that the local gringo resident (me) was interested in these old things and nice people just gave them to me.

Also, when climbing the Trincheras we saw thousands of old potsherds and I took one or two. They are like religious relics--magic!

I used to go for a daily walk in the bottomland of the Rio Magdalena and often I would find worked stones--some of these also made it into my collection.
Last edited by Sal on Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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silent hunter
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Re: Finders Keepers

Post by silent hunter »

Sal if people keep picking up history all that will be left are story's


Best Wishes
Kurt Painter


Can't you just enjoy the shard in it's natural place and take the memory with you.
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