Pre-Columbian Clay Pots and Gold Returned to Panama
File this one under archeology…
An Oregon widow was discovered to have in her possession something illegally taken from Panama. This little old lady was the head of an international theft ring that specialized in tomb raiding for gold pieces…and she would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids at the FBI.
Ok, so that is not entirely true. True, a widow was in possession of several pre-Columbian artifacts and true, the FBI investigated the matter and returned those artifacts to the nation of Panama. No international tomb raiders, though.
According to the FBI, the woman’s husband, who passed away in 2004, was a teacher on a United States military base and during his time in the country, he began acquiring the clay pots and gold jewelry during the 1980’s. The man married a Panamanian woman (aforementioned widow) and when he returned to the US, he brought more than his new bride. The couple brought several artifacts into the US, and that, my friends, is illegal.
The couple did sell some of the artifacts at antiquities markets and online. I’m sure the FBI is following up on those pieces as well. It doesn’t matter if you purchase the pre-Columbian pieces or not, Panama passed a law (and it’s in the country’s constitution as well) making it illegal for anyone to even own antiquities from that small Central American nation. The Panamanian Government are the rightful and lawful owners, and only it may give permission to anyone or anything institution to possess such items.
However, the FBI will not be pressing charges against the widow.
The FBI displayed picture of this artifact is upside down. It's a nose ring.
Panama, pre-Columbian, artifacts, antiquities, Oregon, archeology
