Thursday, June 7, 2012

Kincaid Mounds looted, driven over

Via T

Ancient American Indian burial mounds in southern Illinois have been damaged and possibly looted, prompting the state's historical agency to call for the public's help in identifying the culprits.

Last month, someone dug several holes in a portion of Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site, a town and religious center of the Mississippian culture of 1,000 years ago in what is now rural Massac and Pope counties, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency said Friday.

The culprits were probably searching for "grave goods" that Native Americans buried with their dead, although it's unclear if any artifacts or human remains were taken, the agency said. More damage was done to the site recently when an all-terrain vehicle or truck was driven on one of the mounds, where "No Trespassing" signs are posted and ATVs are prohibited, the agency said.

"The criminal disturbance of these human burials in Kincaid Mounds is unconscionable," said Amy Martin, the agency's director. "We hope to apprehend those who are responsible, which will serve as a deterrent to others who may be considering the desecration of our state's heritage."

More @ pjstar

6 comments:

  1. When I wrote the original language for the bill to protect American Indian Sacred sights back in 87 and I delivered it to a closed session of the house. The bill passed into law the first go around. (quite unusual for illannoy politics). I thought this nonsense was over....unfortunately that is not the case.
    Thanks Brock for posting this on your blog, the more people who see it the better.
    warmest regards
    T

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  2. There's alot of those sites here in southern Illinois most of them have been emptied by looters or the State. kinda sad really

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  3. There's alot of those sites here in southern Illinois

    Where are you?

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    1. Johnson county, there is a burial site about 200 yards from my house. State came in and cleaned it out one summer and left the holes. I fell in one squirel hunting. There are fields around here where you can find lots of arrowheads and such i also have a stone axe head around here somewhere. Sometimes when the swamps are low you find stuff as well

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