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Monument Thievery in Mesoamerica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Merle Greene Robertson
Merle Greene Robertson*
Affiliation:
Robert Louis Stevenson School, Pebble Beach, California
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Abstract

"Stela Stealing" has reached such momentous proportions that if something is not done immediately it will be too late to save remaining monuments. Of the 50 archaeological sites in Guatemala and Mexico at which I have recorded monuments in the past 7 years, 18 have either had stelae removed by thieves just prior to my arrival, or "in-process sawing" was taking place at the time of my investigations. Monuments are being stolen in jungle areas. Two important effects will be felt. First, archaeological investigations will be hindered, and second, a source of tourist income for affected countries will be jeopardized. Lives of archaeologists are already in jeopardy, as indicated by incidents in the Peten during the past several years. Part of this paper was read at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Norman, Oklahoma, 6 May 1971.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 1972 , pp. 147 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1972

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References

Coggins, Clemency 1969 Illicit traffic of Pre-Columbian antiquities. The Art Journal 39:1.Google Scholar
Morley, Sylvanus Griswold 1937 The inscriptions of Peten, Vol. 5. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 437, Washington.Google Scholar
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