Time Sifters Archaeology Society Newsletter January 2019

JANUARY-2019PRESERVATION EDUCATION RESEARCH INSPIREDear Member:Can you believe it is 2019 already!! Looking back in 2018, we added a new partnership with OLLI Life LongLearning Institute and with their help we have developed the In-Depth Series. The first of these will be the“Dead Sea Scrolls; registration info was sent to you in December. We are going to expand this in 2019/2020Season offering “Neanderthals and Other Early Humans” in January 2020 followed by “Cave Paintings ofEurope” in February. Also in 2019, we are working on a few new projects. In February we are going to have anArchaeology 101 class at the New College Lab and a day digging at the Curry Houses in Bradenton. OurTravel Committee headed by Steve Derfler is putting together some trip ideas for us. Also with the help ofTom Johnson, we are going to introduce the FPAN “Heritage Monitoring Scouts” Program. We will continue topublish 12 issues of the newsletter with its interesting stories and to provide members with a calendar ofevents.If you have any topics or subjects you would like to hear about, please lets us know because we are startingto put together ideas for next season’s lectures.We are always open for compliments and suggestions.Thank you for being a member of Time Sifters.Darwin “Smitty” Smith, President [email protected] 16, 6:00 PM Selby Library, 1331 First St., Sarasota The Archaeology Year in Review Darwin “Smitty” Smith President, Time Sifters This month we will highlight some of the discoveries and events from 2018. It will include the reconstruction of a Roman Mithras Temple in London; a LIDAR Study Reveals Guatemala’s Ancient Maya Cities; a Lost City in Kansas; the HMS Erebus & HMS Terror Expedition; the Returning of Artifacts to their homes and the recent discovery of 3,200-year-old cheese. We will also highlight five of the 13 new World Heritage Sites.

Notes from a Time Sifter By Evelyn Mangie, Time Sifters Board MemberCultural VandalismThe 1970 UNESCO Convention which the artifacts were taken. It detection, sent to multiple Hobbymade the sale of cultural artifacts is not difficult to plunder sites Lobby corporate affiliate addresses inillegal. It has been called because most are in remote areas OK. Five of the boxes that were“cultural vandalism” and has and impossible to guard, and destined to be delivered to thebecome the 4th largest illicit global many sites are yet unknown. In home offices in Oklahoma Cityindustry after arms sales, drugs the Middle East, stolen artifacts were intercepted by customs officialsand human trafficking. Selling are smuggled through Lebanon who examined the boxes to makeillegally excavated antiquities has and Turkey and taken to warehouses sure that the contents matchedbeen going on for a long time but in Europe, Asia, and North America the labels. The customs officialsthe wars in the Middle East have where dealers buy them to sell to alerted federal authorities whomade it much worse because the collectors (Torbati, Routers, began an investigation (Feuer,sources of these treasures are in 12/15/16). Some collectors are New York Times, 7/5/17). Greenareas that are unsafe for archaeol- known to officials, but most of was ordered to return at leastogists and scholars. Looters freely dig them are reluctant to speak to 3,800 artifacts to Iraq and finedinto unexcavated sites, and local eBay eBay John Denmark/U.S. I & C E)people, who usually authorities. Some claim that they three million dollars.turn in looters, are now bought their artifacts from eBay, not Hobby Lobby execu-desperate and willing from dealers, but this is still illegal. tives were required toto sell serendipitous ISIS has been the major offender, adopt policies thatfinds to feed their destroying and looting antiquities would carefully overseefamilies. One group from sites like Palmyra, Mari, the acquisition of culturalof Syrians tries to Dura-Europos, Nineveh, Nimrud, items, to hire qualifiedlegitimize their actions and more (Curry, National customs advisors andby calling themselves Geographic, 9/1/15). But there are brokers, and to submit quarterly“Brothers of the Sand” as they other looters, many from closer to reports describing all antiquitiesfreely dig into ancient sites (Giglio home. For example, Steve Green, they buy (Barajas, PBS News& Awad, BuzzFeed News the founder and president of Hour, 5/2/18).7/30/15). It is a multi-million- Hobby Lobby purchased more Other pieces that matched thedollar business and collectors are than 40,000 artifacts of all kinds Hobby Lobby artifacts turned upwilling to buy regardless of the to put into his Museum of the Bible in the antiquities market whichcircumstances. That makes collectors in Washington, D.C. in 2009. At prompted archaeologists to seekas guilty as the looters. Some artifacts least 5,500 of these artifacts were the location of the looted site.are offered at prestigious auction stolen from Iraq. Most are clay Archaeologists believe that it is ahouses such as Christie’s in NYC, tablets and cylinder seals covered tell labeled “site 1056”, which iswhere sometimes artifacts offered with cuneiform writing. Green had probably the remains of a 2,000for sale are still covered with dirt been warned by a cultural law B.C.E. Sumerian city, Irisagrig,from the site. Only last month, expert that the pieces were possibly that has never been professionallyignoring the objections of the Iraqi looted, and that Green could be excavated. Authorities will nowculture ministry, a 3000-year-old breaking the law. Nevertheless, closely watch the site but in therelief that had been taken from an the artifacts were smuggled meantime, Syrian and Iraqi archaeolo-Iraqi site in the mid-1800s was through Israel and the United Arab gists are using a new invisible paintopenly offered for sale (Sanchez & Emirates packed in boxes marked to mark artifacts. It was developedAlexander, The Telegraph, 10/30/18). “tile samples” and, to escape by a British crime prevention firmThese artifacts are a great loss to and can only be seen under ultraviolethistory because once they are removed light. Authorities believe this willfrom the site their provenance can at least help identify stolen antiquities,never be recovered. That means and may discourage collectors fromtheir relevance and cultural buying looted artifacts, and will finallyinformation cannot be studied by put an end to the cultural heritagearchaeologists and historians, a theft (Gardner, BBC News,tragic loss to our understanding 3//21/17).of the history of the area from

News & Events Thursday, January 10: 5:00 - 7:00 People and the Night Sky with Rebecca O’Sullivan, Public Coordinator for the West Central Public Archaeology Network.Time Sifters TravelOh, the places you'll go! Dr. SeussOn December 3, six Time Siftersset off on a 13 day tour of AncientEgypt. The tour was lead byDr. Steve Derfler and includedMina McEvoy, Dorothy Cascio,Bill Hatz and Smitty. The itinerarywas aggressive but full of greatthings to see, good food andfantastic people to be with. Thefollowing are some of our photosof this awesome country.Officers: Board of Directors Copyright © 2019Darwin \"Smitty\" Smith, President Time SiftersArchaeologySociety,Inc.,Sherry Svekis, Vice President Directors: Steven Derfler All rights reserved.vacant, Secretary Robert Bopp Evelyn Mangie We send newsletters to peopleLaura Harrison, Treasurer Dorothy Cascio Sharon McConnell who have attended or expressedKaren Jensen, Membership Glenn Cooper interestin our lecturesand given us their email address.

Membership Speakers & Events CalendarLifetime: $350 Unless noted, all will be held at 6:00 PMIndividual: $25 Selby Library, 1331 First St., Sarasota 34236Family: $35 January 16Student: $10 The Archaeology Year in Review Darwin “Smitty“ SmithPay online at:WWW.TimeSifters.org January 25Or mail checks to: In-Depth Series: The Dead Sea ScrollsTime Sifters, Inc. Dr. Steven Derfler ** Class at Ringling Life Long Learning,PO Box 5283 For complete info go to WWW.TimeSifters.org.Sarasota, FL. 34277 February 20 Research Updates on the Chaco Canyon Phenomenon Dr. John Kantner March 20 The Page-Ladson Site—15,000 Year old Florida Dr. Jesse HalliganTime Sifters Archaeology SocietyP. O. Box 5283, Sarasota, FL 34277