Indian artifact legality

[rustycoinUT]

In the past years i have found a lot of different indian artifacts and due to not knowing if it was legal or not i have left a lot of really good items behind exept of course the points that i find. I am wondering what the law stipulates about finding such items. I have a detailed journal on what i have found and where i found it. lol In my case it is where i have hidden it

I know there are no problems with finding points but the items that i am curious about are pottery, woven baskets, turtle rattles and a few other misc items. I don't know about the rest of you but finding something like this is NOT worth a jail sentence.


Is there anybody that can tell me about the legality of finding Indian artifacts?


Have a great day
rustycoinUT

[raw-war-digger]

Hey rusty,
I did a Google search and here is what I found: Utah State Antiquity LawsThese laws protect all Indian artifacts. Finds are to be left s they are. The State Historical Society should be notified in the case of large finds. The removal of invertebrate fossils for private collecting is often allowed on lands outside of State and National Parks. Fossil remains are abundant in the Uintah Basin. Fossilized vertebrates of any kind (dinosaur or mammal) are protected and can not be removed. Notify the State History Museum in Vernal 435-789-3799.
http://www.duchesnegov.net/clerkaudi...tiquity%20Laws

I'm not sure if this applies to Privately Owned Property?
Good Luck, Roger

[rustycoinUT]

Roger, Here in Utah there is so much open land and a lot of Indian tribes have been lost or forgotten like the ghost towns of old. It would literally take weeks or even months to cross some of this area on horseback because off road vehicles are prohibited in many areas. The areas that i have found were in southern Utah and the northern Arizona. I have came across hunting grounds used by the Utes,Piutes and the Navajo indians. In some cases i have found sites inhabited by the extinct Freemont indians and all my research goes to the proper athorities but they are to lazy to check out these remote sites.

In the year 2000 i went on a week long horseback ride into the desert lands of Northern Arizona and found an old pueblo indian village that was still intact and has not yet been looted for its bounty. I reported it to the proper athorities in AZ and they have yet to check it out.


I will not bore anybody with any more details but the gov needs to get off their Butt or make it legal for amateur archaeology.

Thanks
rustycoinUT