From Deseret News archives:

Dozens of Indian artifacts are recovered

Amnesty program in Four Corners area a success, officials say

Published: Sunday, Aug. 29, 2004 11:12 p.m. MDT
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One drew a map for authorities showing where in 1955 he found a skull near Blanding, Utah. Another skull was listed as having been found by schoolchildren 20 years ago in an unidentified canyon near Moab, Utah. That skull was kept by a teacher at an elementary school.

Yet another skull was turned in by relatives of a deceased man in Ogden, Utah, who inherited it 20 years ago.

"This is the problem with things that show up this way: Somebody finds them in a garage after grandpa dies," said Utah state archaeologist Kevin Jones.

In a related find, Jones said an additional two sets of human remains unearthed in northern Utah show characteristics of Anglo and Indian features that could be of mixed heritage.

That discovery in Rich County came from the ancestral lands of Ute Indians, but historically other tribes traveled through the area, he said.

Cuch, a Ute Indian, said the tribes were sometimes at war with one another and would have taken captives, which could be another possibility explaining the remains.

The removal of Indian artifacts and human remains from public land is a felony normally punishable by a fine or prison time — except for licensed archaeologists who take out permits to do excavations.

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The amnesty continues to pay dividends. On Thursday, Fryar said he was expecting a man to turn in a dozen intact pottery vessels. Fryar declined to provide further details of the pending transfer.

Other recovered loot includes pots dating back as much as 1,300 years, a zigzagging ceremonial prayer stick, a frog-shaped clay canteen — and enough arrow points to take out a herd of buffalo.

"Each object has its own story, whether it be human remains or artifacts," Fryar said. "The main thing is, people felt good enough to turn these back in."

One woman even volunteered to surrender a geode, a stone with a crystal-lined cavity that is a geological oddity.

"It's not an artifact, it's a rock," Fryar said he told the woman. "At least she took the time to ask."

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