PREFACE B

Pete V. Domenici

United States Senator

With unfortunate frequency, thieves break into some noted art museum and steal works of art. News of the heist is relayed around the world through television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Invariably, the theft is described as "sensational," and commentators bemoan the loss of these treasured cultural objects.

The loss of these paintings and other artworks certainly is a tremendous loss, not only to the museum from which they are stolen but also to the public. No longer will the public be able to study and enjoy these works that are part of our shared cultural heritage. The public and the media are justifiably concerned about this cultural thievery.

Yet, where is the concern of the public and the media about the cultural thievery that is being committed every week across our land? On public lands across our Nation, pothunters and other archaeological looters are digging through ancient Indian pueblos, historic Spanish shipwrecks, and the graves of Civil War soldiers and Native Americans, then stealing artifacts for a collection or sale.

A 1987 General Accounting Office (GAO) study found that approximately 44,000 of the 136,000 archaeological sites in the Four Corners States of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah have been looted. In a 5-1/2 year period ending in 1986, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service, and the National Park Service documented 1,222 looting incidents in the four States.

The stolen artifacts include woven baskets with intricate designs, turquoise ornaments, metates for grinding corn, bows and arrows, clothing made with feathers from domesticated turkeys, and most importantly, pottery. The prehistoric peoples of the Four Corners States developed distinctive ceramics that are notable for the detailed geometric and pictorial designs with which they are decorated. They are more than just interesting artifacts, they are works of art.

Like an art heist, the theft of archaeological artifacts deprives the public of the opportunity to study and enjoy objects that are part of our shared cultural heritage.

For example, a nationally significant archaeological site in New Mexico was recently looted. The site, which was in the process of being nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, contains the ruins of a prehistoric pueblo associated with the Casas Grandes culture. The 20-acre site encompasses several plazas and as many as 250 rooms that were used by Native American peoples from 1200 to 1400 A.D.

Pothunters dug through the ruins, unearthing artifacts. In the process, they disturbed the site and scattered the artifacts that they did not want to steal. The looting not only led to the loss of cultural artifacts, but also destroyed valuable scientific information that could have been helpful in analyzing the culture of the people who lived there.

The media did not relay word of this tragic theft to the world. Where is the hue and cry about the theft of archaeological artifacts? Where are the reporters and the cameras alerting the public to this loss? Where are the commentators explaining the impact of this loss on our society?

Archaeological resources located on federal land have been protected since 1906, when Congress enacted the Antiquities Act. The Antiquities Act provides that qualified institutions may be issued permits for the excavation of archaeological sites. It also provides criminal penalties for unauthorized excavations.

In the late 1970's, the courts invalidated a crucial section of the Antiquities Act, thus creating the need for stronger legislation.

In 1979, I wrote the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). ARPA toughened the laws protecting archaeological resources on federal lands by imposing severe criminal penalties for unauthorized excavation, damage, destruction, or removal of archaeological resources. It provides fines up to $100,000 and five years in jail for criminal violations. It also allows federal land managers to impose civil penalties for violations and grant rewards for information on violations.

In 1988, I authored amendments to ARPA that lowered the felony threshold for ARPA offenses, made attempted looting of archaeological artifacts on federal land a crime, directed federal land management agencies to develop plans for archaeological surveys of their lands, required the agencies to prepare a schedule for surveying those areas that are likely to contain the most important archaeological resources, and mandated that federal agencies develop processes for reporting suspected incidents of looting of archaeological resources on their lands.

Unfortunately, despite the effective mechanisms of ARPA, archaeological looting continues. A major reason for continued looting is the inadequate funding for federal cultural resource management to prevent looting.

We have made progress on funding for cultural resources management in recent years. In Fiscal Year 1981, $38.6 million was appropriated for cultural resources management by the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and the National Park Service. In Fiscal Year 1990, Congress appropriated $85.2 million. In real terms, funding for the cultural resource management programs of these three agencies increased 65% from 1981 to 1990.

Unfortunately, much remains to be done. The Federal Government's efforts to protect archaeological resources on the lands under its control remain inadequate. Our Nation's archaeological heritage continues to be stolen and sold as quaint curios.

Just as we are outraged by the theft of masterpieces from museums, we must also be outraged by the theft of our Nation's archeological artifacts. The failure to protect our nation's archaeological resources constitutes a breach of faith by the Federal Government. As the trustee of these lands for the American people, the Federal Government has an obligation to assure that these resources are not destroyed or stolen by those who have no respect for the past.

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