"The individuals who did this were not surgeons, they were smashing and grabbing," U.S. Bureau of Land Management archaeologist Greg Haverstock said last week as he examined the damage. "This was the worst act of vandalism ever seen" on the 750,000 acres of public land managed by the BLM field office in Bishop.
The theft required extraordinary effort: Ladders, electric generators and power saws had to be driven into the remote and arid high desert site near Bishop. Thieves gouged holes in the rock and sheared off slabs that were up to 15 feet above ground and 2 feet high and wide.
Visitors discovered the theft and reported it to the BLM on Oct. 31. BLM field office manager Bernadette Lovato delivered the bad news to Paiute-Shoshone tribal leaders in Bishop.
"It was the toughest telephone call I ever had to make," Lovato said. "Their culture and spiritual beliefs had been horribly violated. We will do everything in our power to bring those pieces back."
The region is known as Volcanic Tableland. It is held sacred by Native Americans whose ancestors adorned hundreds of lava boulders with spiritual renderings: concentric circles, deer, rattlesnakes, bighorn sheep, and hunters with bows and arrows.
For generations, Paiute-Shoshone tribal members and whites have lived side by side but not together in Bishop. But desecration of the site, which Native Americans still use in spiritual ceremonies, has forced reservation officials and U.S. authorities to come together and ask a tough question: Can further vandalism be prevented?
"How do we manage fragile resources that have survived as much as 10,000 years but can be destroyed in an instant?" asked archaeologist David Whitley, who in 2000 wrote the nomination that succeeded in getting the site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. "Do we keep them secret in hopes that no one vandalizes them? Or, do we open them to the public so that visitors can serve as stewards of the resources?"
Full story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-petroglyphs-theft-20121119,0,6886011.story
Reshared post from +Robin Black
Those of you who were part of +elizabeth hahn's excellent discussion about not revealing sensitive locations that we shoot (also +Lori Hibbett, +Jeff Sullivan and +G Dan Mitchell ) will want to see this. Sickening and heartbreaking. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-petroglyphs-theft-20121119,0,6886011.story
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Petroglyph thefts near Bishop stun federal authorities, Paiutes
BISHOP, Calif. — Ancient hunters and gatherers etched vivid petroglyphs on cliffs in the Eastern Sierra that withstood winds, flash floods and earthquakes for more than 3,500 years. Thieves needed onl…
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Humans showing the lack of their respect for their own unreplaceable Past. Well done.
That's horrible, I hope they are recovered soon. I also hope the things responsible go to jail for a very long time. Very very long..
That is just awful to read.
This pisses me off man!!!! You would think as humans, we have evolved somewhat. This is very upsetting.
To the extent that photographers display photos of these sites, show petroglyph details, name the site, show enough of the surroundings to find it, sometimes even map it, perhaps it might be timely to consider what role we could inadvertently be playing in this outcome?
This is so sad. I want to cry. I already posted another comment on this terrible vandalism.
This is like something out of Tony Hillerman's books. Things just haven't changed.
If only people also cried when they looked at Mt Rushmore, mind you, instead of going to gawp at it in droves, it might set an example of sorts
"The BLM is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves. Damaging or removing the petroglyphs is a felony. First-time offenders can be imprisoned for up to one year and fined as much as $20,000, authorities said. Second-time offenders can be fined up to $100,000 and imprisoned up to five years."
this is a joke
I agree with you +Jeff Sullivan. I remember people giving me a hard time about a location in the Sierras. I told them DO NOT put the name of the location, where it's at or any other tags that may indicate/pin point where the location is at. The response I got, which I'll never forget was "they would find the location anyway." What a shame, it reasons like this why I said what i said to him. We as photographers need to have some type of integrity with some of these locations.
I'll be sending a check to help add to the reward for finding these guys. Here's the address:
Bernadette Lovato, Field Manager
Bureau of Land Management
Bishop Field Office
351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100
Bishop, CA 93514
Phone: (760) 872-5000
Fax: (760) 872-5050
Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., M-F