Artifacts investigation reveals lack of respect

The sad thing about your emphasis on the "lack of respect" extends to your article itself. Upon further investigation one would find that the "Navajo artifacts" referred to in the article are actually of puebloan ancestry. The Navajo, or Dine (as they respectfully wish to be referred to) are infants when it comes to the four corners region, whereas the ancestral puebloan culture was strong in this region for over a thousand years before the Navajo arrived.

So..."lack of respect," if I robbed your grandmother's grave, does what you are saying make it alright? Or, suppose it was your cousin's grave. Because you're not directly related. Yes it sounds stupid and infantile, but the insuation are one in the same. All Native people ARE related. The fact remains, a wrong has been done. Only this time, the perpetrator has been caught with his/her pants down. Upon further investigation, one would find that these artifacts are of Anasazi ancestery, the very same people who share the same Athabaskan culture as the DINE'. Further, it is the people much like the "Blanding grave-diggers" who separated the cultures. Perhaps you could take time to learn some oral history. Don't believe everything you read about.

NO Desert Rock wrote:

All Native people ARE related..

I'm sorry. If you mean all native americans are related in the sense they are all part of the human race I agree.

But if you mean they all come from a common group of ancestors, such as those who crossed the Russia/Alaskan landbridge I must disagree. There are a lot of archeological sites pointing to multiple routes of settlement from many races many thousands of years ago.

I hope you aren't saying all Native Americans are the same. They all have their unique origins, values, culture, and ways of life.

that's right, bunch everybody together. After all, they all look alike. Where did you get your oral?

This conduct appears to be ingrained in the town over a long period of time. What needs to be done is forcibly move everyone in the town and scatter them all over in other states. Then dismantle the town until there is no visible evidence that a town was ever there.

This town is only one step up from the worst of the lot, the archeologist. That is just state sponsored grave robbery.

A true lack of respect wrote:

that's right, bunch everybody together. After all, they all look alike. Where did you get your oral?

You wouldn't know or understand oral if it hit you in the face you moron, or, is it Mormon?

Anon wrote:

This conduct appears to be ingrained in the town over a long period of time.

True enough. I guess that's why it came as such a shock to these people. Of course, getting away with a crime for along time doesn't make it less of a crime.

What needs to be done is forcibly move everyone in the town and scatter them all over in other states. Then dismantle the town until there is no visible evidence that a town was ever there.

WHAT? What bloody country are you from? This is America. We don't do that.
(Unless it's a World War and you are part of the race we are fighting.See: Japanese Internment Camps)

This town is only one step up from the worst of the lot, the archeologist. That is just state sponsored grave robbery.

OK, now you're really whacked. Archeologists study, preserve, protect and learn about artifacts and cultures from the past. Each artifact they find is either carefully left in place to study its significance, or is removed to a safe site or museum for restoration and more study. The whole reason it's against the law to steal artifacts is because it ruins the knowledge we could have gained from studying it archeologically!

Try puebloan, with deep roots in which you "specialize". I spend a lot of time out home.

I'm beginning to realize that forums like this have a lot of negativity associated with it. Not everyone is this way, but it seems that there are a lot of people with nothing better to do than complain online. Perhaps this is because they lack the social skills required to have live friends? This is only the second or third time that I have posted anything, and it really lacks much for intelligent conversation. Maybe I jsut haven't found the right forums.

Saint, I agree with you. As a member of a puebloan culture, I have always felt indifferent with the past and it's artifacts. Many of my peers say to "just let nature take it's course". Recently, however, I have changed my perspective with regards to archaeological studies. I just visited the four corners area, meeting with officials at Mesa Verde, and visiting the archives, and the things that I learned about their philosophy had its impact. Preservation and protection is important for future educational endeavors.

The Navajo being a nomadic tribe from Russia is not related to the Ancient Ones. Anasazi is a Navajo (more correctly, Diné or Dineh) word which, depending on pronunciation, means 'ancient people who are not us'.
Grave robbing is grave robbing regardless of who it is done by: an inquisitive archaeologist, artifact collectors, or man out for profits.

A true lack of respect wrote:

I'm beginning to realize that forums like this have a lot of negativity associated with it. Not everyone is this way, but it seems that there are a lot of people with nothing better to do than complain online. Perhaps this is because they lack the social skills required to have live friends? This is only the second or third time that I have posted anything, and it really lacks much for intelligent conversation. Maybe I jsut haven't found the right forums.
Saint, I agree with you. As a member of a puebloan culture, I have always felt indifferent with the past and it's artifacts. Many of my peers say to "just let nature take it's course". Recently, however, I have changed my perspective with regards to archaeological studies. I just visited the four corners area, meeting with officials at Mesa Verde, and visiting the archives, and the things that I learned about their philosophy had its impact. Preservation and protection is important for future educational endeavors.

You are absolutely correct--the DT forum is an outlet for ANONYMOUS negativity. People become very loose with their words and attitudes when they can't be identified.(Sadly, that's also why there's so much racism in the threads.) I agree preservation and protection are important.

Why don't they go back to europe and try digging up some graves over there. See if they "respect" that.

Sick of these people!

A true lack of respect wrote:

The sad thing about your emphasis on the "lack of respect" extends to your article itself. Upon further investigation one would find that the "Navajo artifacts" referred to in the article are actually of puebloan ancestry. The Navajo, or Dine (as they respectfully wish to be referred to) are infants when it comes to the four corners region, whereas the ancestral puebloan culture was strong in this region for over a thousand years before the Navajo arrived.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Dineh do show respect for our ancestors. To all of you that are in denial and claim that the Dineh are newcomers to this area, its necessary you at least try to understand that the Dineh do share a common ancestry with the pueblo people. The Dineh were around when Mesa Verda,(figure out which clan that is) and Chaco Canyon were existing. In our oral history, we know about the demise of the Anasazi. Though, I may swear that I am pure Dineh when I introduce myself just mentioning my maternal grandfather’s clan indicates his lineage comes from the Hopi Sun Clan people. Now the Hopis like to agree with the archeologists about the Dineh and the Bering Strait, but we all need to accept each other as relatives. We all have been here for centuries coexisting and marrying. So there is no need to establish a cultural hierarchy. Some of the Dineh clans are deeply rooted and come from the “puebloan ancestry.”

if anyone is interested, there is a very hot thread on about.com/archeology . look for "levallois in the usa". these levallois"mousterian " type artifacts are being found in numerous areas of the usa as we speak. a dig was started at a site in tenessee. a huge collection has been assembled in indiana. check out the thread before it gets buried like so many other ancient artifacts that challenge "out of africa, across the bridge" theory.