Dear VA-Arch members,

Several of us in the archaeological community have been
keeping tabs on this sale. Tom Klatka from the VDHR Roanoke
Regional Office visited and attempted to work with Mr. Fifer
in the past, as did members of the Archeological Society of
Virginia. It is my understanding that there exists no
catalog for these artifacts and that the sites have not been
recorded.

I have contacted Green Valley Auction House in the past about
their policy of regularly selling Native American artifacts
but have received no formal response. Several members of the
Massanutten Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia
are going to attend the sale on Saturday to talk with the
buyers in the hope that some information can be salvaged.

Carole Nash
Dept. Soc/Anth
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 13:18:53 -0000
>From: "Joe B. Jones" <jbjone@...>
>Subject: [VA-Arch] Re: Our May 1, 2004 Indian Artifact
auction
>To: VA-Arch@yahoogroups.com
>
>Principle No. 3 of the Society for American Archaeology's
Principles
>of Archaeological Ethics:
>
>"The Society for American Archaeology has long recognized
that the
>buying and selling of objects out of archaeological context
is
>contributing to the destruction of the archaeological record
on the
>American continents and around the world. The
commercialization of
>archaeological objects--their use as commodities to be
exploited for
>personal enjoyment or profit--results in the destruction of
>archaeological sites and of contextual information that is
essential
>to understanding the archaeological record. Archaeologists
should
>therefore carefully weigh the benefits of scholarship of a
project
>against the costs of potentially enhancing the the
commercial value
>of archaeological objects. Whenever possible they should
discourage,
>and should themselves avoid, activities that enhance the
commercial
>value of archaeological objects, especially ojbects that are
not
>curated in public institutions, or readily available for
scientific
>study, public interpretation, and display."
>
>--- In VA-Arch@yahoogroups.com, "Greg Evans" <greg@g...>
wrote:
>> On Saturday, May 1, 2004, Green Valley Auctions, Inc. will
be
>selling the Jesse Fifer collection of Indian Artifacts.
Jesse is from
>Bedford County, and was a member of the Virginia
Archeological
>Society. Due to Jesse's connection with the Society, we
wanted to
>notify anyone who may have an interest in his collection.
>>
>> The listing and photos for the auction have now been
posted on our
>web site. The direct link to this auction page is
>http://www.greenvalleyauctions.com/Auctions/Upcoming/2004May1
.html
>>
>> A printable listing is also available at this link.
>>
>>
>> Green Valley Auctions, Inc.
>> 2259 Green Valley Lane
>> Mt. Crawford, VA 22841
>> USA
>> Phone: 540-434-4260
>> E-mail: gvai@s...
>> Web: http://www.greenvalleyauctions.com
>
>
>
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