Having worked in Texas, I have long been aware that at least a few farmers
and ranchers have made money by creating fake archaeological sites.
What they have done and still do is operate Pay-To-Dig archaeological
sites where pot and arrowhead hunters / relict collectors pay the landowner
20 to 30 dollars a day per person to dig and sift through selected parts of
their property collecting artifacts and keeping what they find. Although these
businesses are destructive of archaeological sites, there is nothing that
can be done if it is on private property. All a person can do is cringe and
feel a bit depressed over a few bottles of beer as the owners of such
establishments don't care about artifacts except for the money can be
made off of letting people strip-mine an archaeological site on their
property.
However, what eventually happens is the parcel of ground gets exhausted
of whatever real artifacts were originally present. Instead of closing the
business, the landowner starts seeding their "site" with reproductions of
arrowheads, potshards, debitage, and so forth to replace the ever dwindling
supply of authentic artifacts with additional "artifacts" for his costumers to
find the next season. Usually, they are good at mixing the new stuff into the
ground on the off season so nobody gets suspicious. At any one time,
there are several such fake sites operating in Texas and Arkansas. In
Arkansas, there is (was?) even a hill that had been seeded with artifacts
to convert it into fake Indian Mound that is (was?) part of a Pay-To-Dig
"archaeological" site. I suspect that they also exist in other parts of North
America.
I have heard allegations that a few such fake sites had been seeded with
reproductions of Paleo-Indian artifacts so they can charge 40 to 60 dollars
per day per person to dig. But, these allegations have so far been
unsubstantiated rumors often prompted by either beer, someone's vivid
imagination, someone pranking a gullible academic, or combination of all.
Yours,
Paul H.
"The past is never dead. It's not even past."
William Faulkner, Act 1, Scene III, Requiem for a Nun (1951)
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2023 11:41PM by Paul H..
