The indictments unsealed Wednesday names 24 people and they're charged with violating federal laws that prohibit the digging and selling of centuries-old pots, sandals, religious items and other artifacts left by ancient Native Americans on what is now federal and tribal land.

Most of those targeted live in southeastern Utah, where generations of families have been involved in both a legal and illegal trade in artifacts. Federal law does not prohibit the digging and removal of artifacts from private land.

This artifacts subculture began in the late 1800s, when rancher Richard Wetherill discovered the cliff dwellings of a lost culture referred to as the "Anasazi." The dwellings eventually were protected with the creation of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Wetherill and his family also found burial sites containing clay pots, reed sandals and religious items. That attracted the interest of collectors and museums. A lucrative trade developed that continues in both legal and black market forms today.

Prosecutors have found it difficult to prosecute thefts from federal and tribal lands because the region is vast and remote. "Pothunters," as they're called, are rarely caught in the act and they claim that the items they sell were found on private land.

The sting revealed Wednesday involved 256 artifacts purchased by undercover agents for $333,685. The indictments allege theft of government property, theft from tribal lands and depredation of government property. Both felony and misdemeanor counts are involved. Penalties upon conviction range up to 10 years in prison.

Most of the arrests took place in Blanding, Utah, which is a center of both legitimate and illegal artifacts markets. Arrests also occurred in Moab and Monticello, Utah, and in neighboring Colorado and New Mexico.

The region is known for thousands of archaeological sites containing dwellings and burial grounds of ancient native people who mysteriously vanished before modern tribes appeared. Some archaeologists consider the area to have the world's greatest concentration of artifacts, graves and cliff paintings and etchings.

If you're interested in various subcultural or community studies, the Vampirism & Energy Work Research Study (VEWRS/AVEWRS), sanguinarian and/or psychic vampirism, or the vampire community in general you will want to purchase a copy of this book.  There hasn't been anything quite like this published before... a very different kind of text/approach than that of Ramsland, Guiley, Guinn, and others.

The academic and sociological significance of this work can't be underscored enough.  Laycock offers a sweeping scholarly examination of the vampire community and the process of self-identification as a vampire.  He counters many of the negative stereotypes of the vampire community and posits thought-provoking arguments regarding ontological diversity.  

Additional Notes:  The author holds a Masters of Divinity from Harvard University, a recipient of a grant from the Pluralism Project, and currently enrolled in the Division of Religious and Theological Studies at Boston University where he's working on his PhD.  He has presented on the topic of vampirism at the American Academy of Religion Conference in San Diego where he argued that "vampirism" should not be classified as a new religious movement (NRM) and to faculty at the University of Michigan and other institutional bodies on the sociological and emergent scientific aspects of vampirism.  He will be delivering a paper on Otherkin in August (2009) at the Association for the Sociology of Religion's annual conference in San Francisco, CA.  Laycock is well versed in the structure of the vampire community, has interviewed many individuals from diverse paths, and attended multiple gatherings.

‘Vengeance’ Bites Back At Jared Diamond
Michael Balter

On 20 April, well-known biologist and author Jared Diamond was sued in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for allegedly defaming two tribesmen from Papua New Guinea whom he described in The New Yorker as having engaged in a violent "revenge war." The lawsuit, which also names as a defendant Advance Publications Inc., the owner of The New Yorker, demands at least $10 million in damages. It follows a yearlong investigation led by artist Rhonda Roland Shearer, the widow of evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, who directs a journalism ethics program that publishes a Web site called Stinkyjournalism.org.

Hi guys! I work in education at a zoo and am hoping to do my senior thesis project there. I was wondering if any of you have done your thesis work at a zoo, and if so what was it on? I’m mainly interested in physical anthropology, so I was thinking of doing something in primatology or comparative osteology (we have an extensive primate skeletal collection), but I’m interested in hearing about anything you’ve done at a zoo. Thanks!