Indian bowls, bottles taken from locked room at Southern Arkansas University
Last updated Saturday, August 5, 2006 11:14 PM CDT in News
By The Associated Press
MAGNOLIA — An invaluable collection of intact bowls and bottles crafted centuries ago by Caddo Indians has been stolen from a storeroom at Southern Arkansas University, where they were awaiting return to members of the tribe.
Whoever took the artifacts, bearing intricate designs characteristic of the Caddo, will probably be able to dispose of them quickly on the antiquities black market, said David Jeane, a research archaeologist at the university.
“The Caddo were probably some of the finest ceramists of any of the North American Indians,” Jeane said. “Their pots are considered high art and they will go rapidly on the market.”
Southern Arkansas University officials announced on Friday their discovery the day before that the artifacts were missing. The discovery was made by Jeane and Jamie Brandon, station archaeologist at Southern Arkansas University, as Jeane showed Brandon around the school’s new archaeology offices on his third day at a new job.
Jeane said Southern Arkansas University archaeologists had not been in the locked room holding the artifacts all summer. The door showed no sign of forced entry.
“I got the key and turned on the light,” Jeane said. “When I did, there was one of the Caddo Indian pots lying on the floor, so I knew something was not right.”
Left behind by whoever stole the artifacts were thousands of shards from broken vessels, arrowheads and other items.
Brandon said it was possible the thief had a key to the room, or it was left unlocked during the department’s move to its new quarters.
The stolen items were among a large collection unearthed in 1980 at a Caddo Indian burial site named Cedar Grove in Lafayette County.
“This pottery (was) the offerings placed in the graves with the bodies,” Jeane said.
After studying the artifacts for more than two decades, the Southern Arkansas University archaeologists were preparing to turn the items over to descendants of the Caddo Indians who live in Binger, Okla., according to Brandon.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
