. Bulletin. Natural history; Science. to a museum. The idea of the tax-deductible gift is itself an admirable one and is usually an excellent bargain for the public. But when the objects being given are stolen and likely to be later confiscated, the public can lose heavily. And finally, that segment of the public who collect antiquities themselves—and it is surprisingly large—is very vulnerable to fraud. The situation is ready-made for con men, who are traditionally fond of customers who like the idea of making big profits on things that are slightly illegal. IVIuch of what is sold is stolen a
. Bulletin. Natural history; Science. to a museum. The idea of the tax-deductible gift is itself an admirable one and is usually an excellent bargain for the public. But when the objects being given are stolen and likely to be later confiscated, the public can lose heavily. And finally, that segment of the public who collect antiquities themselves—and it is surprisingly large—is very vulnerable to fraud. The situation is ready-made for con men, who are traditionally fond of customers who like the idea of making big profits on things that are slightly illegal. IVIuch of what is sold is stolen and, now that the legal situation is beginning to tighten up, may later be confiscated from the buyer. Also, a large part of the legally acquired portion of the average dealer's stock IS fake. Some famous types of artifacts are almost all fakes, but so good that even the professionals—the art historians and the archaeologists—are often fooled, although they usually will not admit this in public. The fakes are even sold as stolen originals. For instance, right now the American market is being flooded with a group of excellent faked Cambodian statues which some dealers tell their customers confidentially were taken right from Angkor Wat by loyalist or communist soldiers. This is not to say that Cambodian sites are not being extensively looted or that some of. this loot may not turn up on the market, fvly point IS that the average collector—even the average collector without scruples and with an expert advisor—has no way of knowing. In a market as profitable and unethical as the present one he doesn't stand a chance. Hem: As Clemency Coggins reported in her Science article, the antiquities entrepreneurs are becoming ruthless not only with sites and monuments but with human lives. In Guatemala alone at least one government official and a number of Lacandon Indians have been murdered by these entrepreneurs' agents. Scattered reports are coming in from other places te
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