Author: Pietro Villari. All Rights Reserved
Posted on September 5, 2018
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The origin and the dating are
shrouded in mystery. The place of discovery indicated by the auction house is
“South America”, but it may not be as the lot is totally free of documentation.
The dating provided is “ancient”, a term that in this case is dangerously
insufficient. In fact, the first observations prompt us to consider these
remains of the modern age.
The most serious problem is
the absence of a permit issued by a health official, which excludes damage to
public health, since organic substances are present from decomposition and
other post-mortem processes in the context of ritual activities and natural
causes. Thus, pathogens may still be active, even causing pandemics.
The story demonstrates the
need for the European Union to intervene proveding the Member States with an
operative protocol to exercise effective control actions in the field of
circulation, exhibition and trade of this category of goods subject to disquieting
merchant activities.
The auction offers and the
purchase of what remains of J. Doe (1)
For over forty years I have
tried to spread the importance that the study of bioarchaeological finds, or
object of interest of the sciences applied to archaeology, are entrusted
exclusively to professionals coming, according to their field of research, from
degree courses in Sciences (Natural, or Biological, or Geological) and in
possession of subsequent specializations.
In the forensic field this
practice is almost always followed by the judiciary, as the outcome of the exam
often contributes decisively to the decisions of the judges, in particular in
trials that may involve convictions with heavy consequences for the defendants
both in civil and criminal matters.
On the other hand, in the archaeological field it has been preferred to let
these studies lead to graduates in the humanities field, allowing them to work
after obtaining a master’s degree, or a PhD in conditions of total absence of
solid scientific bases that only a degree in one of those three scientific
sectors can provide. It is an arrogation of a corporate matrix, contrary to a
valid and reliable level of scientific research, a surreal unacceptable and
aberrant condition.
Having said this, to
understand the doctrinal motivations that inspired this article it is opportune
to keep in mind what represents the scientific and juridical foundation, which
I summarize here:
For primary health reasons, in
the presence of substances of an organic nature coming from burials and
associated with remains of cadavers or animal carcasses, a series of
precautions, techniques for collection and safety, or operations requiring
qualified professionalism must be applied. Following a protocol that also
considers the need for any forensic investigations, the specimen must be insulated
in a controlled environment to avoid contamination, and analyzed in specialized
laboratories that establish first the degree of danger for public health.
In March 2018 a Dutch
physician sent me a request for a technical opinion on a bizarre lot offered by
one of the oldest Dutch auction houses, a Pre-Columbian
Archaeology and Ceramics session, as specified in its online catalogue.
Indeed, the object was exhibited in a preview kept a few days the sale to the
public enchantment, where I went to find out that it was an interesting case of
anthropological forensic interest.
Exhibited in a showcase
together with other objects defined as “archaeological” and without any health
precaution, the lot consisted of a ceramic bowl in which a block of earth
contains a skull identified as belonging to a Canidae puppy. Separated from
these findings, there was also a human skull whose surface showed earthly
accretions, while the skull and the oral cavity were filled with clayey-sandy
soil having the same characteristics observed in the associated set.
Noticing my curiosity, the
watcher in charge for that exhibition section asked me if I wanted to examine
the group, an invitation that I refused, specifying the lack of a special mask
and gloves. She took it as a joke and answered with a delicious laugh,
asserting that there was no danger because it was an “ancient” finding (2). I continued the pleasant chat asking
her about the provenance of the lot, if there were documents accompanying those
objects and I was made clear that there was nothing but the succinct
description in the catalogue. I then let it spend a few minutes, continuing to
observe the lot with interest and finally insisted “Can you ask downstairs
at the sales management?“. She had the kindness to handle at her mobile and
to wait for the answer, then she told me “No, read the catalogue, it’s all
there“.
It was at that moment that I
decided to take care of those poor remains, to buy the lot so that they would
not disappear within that monstrous mechanism of the international market where
parts of “ancient” bodies. Human and other animal skulls, for instance, are
required to perform activities the most disparate, also including magic
rituals. It was therefore necessary to identify the origin and repatriation,
whatever the country of origin, trying to sensitize the Dutch government to
prevent the occurrence of further such cases.
Moreover, as an old pioneer in
the field of bioarchaeological studies, I can’t but continue to see how
those remains on sale represent a testimony of what happened in the unfortunate
field of science applied to archaeology and the destruction of the world’s
bioarchaeological heritage, and a possibility to highlight the current
effects by making known the causes.
The auction took place in
Amsterdam on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018. It started around 1:00 pm and
I had to wait about an hour before the beater came to scan: “Lot number
2058. South America, antique human skull and earthenware bowl with animal
skull, with layers of earth and partly damaged” (3). It was addressed to the public in English, being many
customers connected online from other countries. The offer started from an
auction base of 200 euros, but I managed to buy the lot for a total of 569.80
euros, including commission costs of 29.5% (4).
Now the problem was posed of transport in safety, to be carried out as soon as
possible to avoid further pollution or in case you could be infected by
pathogens.
The purchased items were
delivered to me a few hours later, after having soldered the invoice, arranged
on a tray (5). While I put the finds
in safety, something rather unpleasant occurred (6).
When I got home, I took care
about setting up a temporary lab in a small, clean and empty room (7). I quickly performed a preliminary
examination of each finding, annotating the observations together with the
measurements and taking some photos. Finally, the containers were sealed and
stored in an environment protected from sudden changes in humidity and
temperature.
On the following days I tried in vain to get more information from the auction
house (8).
At the same time, I sent a
letter to the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to inform of the
purchase and expressing the wish to locate the place of origin of the finds so
that they could be repatriated. I received a prompt answer, and invited to a
very interesting meeting at the Den Haag headquarter.
The preliminary examination of
the finds
As mentioned above, before
being sealed for urgent health needs and to prevent further contamination by
micro-organisms (such as pollens) and substances present in the environment, or
the destructive action of organisms such as insects, the lot has been subject
to a preliminary examination a few hours after the purchase (9).
Considering the methods and techniques used, the examination has only validity
of inventory, testifying the state of the findings at the time of purchase and
their securing in appropriate containers. The lot was then placed at the
disposal of the Dutch Authorities as formalized in a letter sent in April
shortly after the purchase.
Lot composition: there are three macro-finds,
identified as a human skull and a ceramic bowl containing a skull of a Canidae puppy.
Moreover, not described in the auction catalogue and the purchase invoice, in
some lumps detached from the earthy concretions that accompany these findings,
have been found a small fragment belonging to a second ceramic vase, a cocoon
of larva, and solidified remains of organic substances modified following
exposure to high temperatures.
International Identification
Number (IIN): to facilitate the
activities of scientific investigations and forensic activity, the lot requires
the assignment of an IIN (International Identification Number), here proposed
NL-A04032018. As a result, the three findings described in the purchase invoice
are identified as follows: Human Skull: NL-A04032018-1; Skull of Canis sp.:NL-A04032018-2;
Ceramic bowl: NL-A04032018-3.
Description of the findings: 1) NL-A04032018-1.
Human skull, it shows elements of maturity attributable to adulthood (for
example, the occlusion of the third molar and the spheno-occipital
synchondrosis). If isolated from the observations of the postcranial skeleton,
as in this case as absent, the skull and dentition provide inaccurate
indications of the age of death.
As for the determination of
gender, both male and female characters are present. From the DNA examination,
indications would also be obtained to trace back to the human group of
belonging, useful for the purposes of comparative osteological studies that allow
to distinguish the gender with significantly lower margins of error.
The mandible lacks much of the
left portion. Both the oral cavity and the skull box are filled with earth, as
a post-mortem process that took place during the long period this item was
underground. However, we note the presence of ash and fluvial sand, most of
which look like quartz.
Lacking the entire
post-cranial skeleton, it is not possible to establish whether it comes from
the intentional burial of a corpse or the burial of just part of it (head), or
rather a burial occurred due to accidental causes. To this end, the removal of the
concretions present in the occipital area, could allow to reveal or refute the
presence of traces of fractures, cuts or truncations referable to the
decapitation or post-mortem separation of the skull.
Finally, there are no signs of
artificial deformation of the skull, sometimes found in individuals belonging
to certain classes of pre-colonial Central and South American populations. The examination of dental wear is not
compatible with that dictated by the pre-modern diet of the American
populations.
2) NL-A04032018-2.
Skull of archeozoological interest, identified as belonging to a Canidae in
post-natal age. Based on the observation of characters such as the rounded
occipital, the lack of sagittal crest, the conformation of the parietal, jaw
and dentition is most likely attributable to a domestic form of the genus Canis
(Canis sp.cfr. familiaris), that in adulthood would
have reached a medium-large size. The presence of soil, in which it is
partially incorporated in a block, does not currently allow routine comparisons
and measurements to be conducted. Only the maximum length of 11.5 cm and the
state of the dental eruption, which would indicate an age at death of about 5
or 6 months, are therefore noted here.
The storage conditions are
good presenting sub-fossilization favoured by exposure to high temperatures,
which resulted in the drying of a portion of the skin and the ashy colour.
However, some small portions of the skull are missing due to different phenomena
that may have occurred before to be buried, during the exhumation and in the
following period, which lasted until the recent sale. Part of the occipital was
found adherent to the inner surface of the ceramic bowl by a solidified organic
substance, preserving clear evidence of combustion.
A
larvae cocoon was localized to the left fossa temporalis, which awaits specific
identification by an expert entomologist. It is not a matter of a fleshly fly
and therefore not inherent in decomposing phenomena, but of another species of
insect whose presence is connected to
natural processes that occurred in a recent phase of the period underground,
just before the exhumation of the finds.
The soil containing this
skull, and apparently also inside it, contains small portions of roots formed
before the exhumation. This observation
allows us to hypothesize that from the exhumation up to now no more than a few
decades have passed, considering the state of conservation and the degree
of flexibility of the roots. It is therefore a group of findings coming
from a recent excavation.
3) NL-A04032018-3.
Ceramic bowl of irregularly sub-hemispherical shape, with a flat base, thick
walls and an indistinct rounded edge. Obtained on the wheel, measuring 8.7 cm
in height and a maximum diameter of 16.5 cm.
The external wall has a corrugated decoration with horizontal lines obtained
with little care. The clay is purified, apparently devoid of particles of
volcanic origin (to be confirmed by petrographic analysis), the colour varies
from light orange to grey or dark grey, probably in relation not to the
production techniques, but to the areas of the pot most exposed to fire in an
uncontrolled environment and in scarcity or lack of oxygen. The inner surface
shows a large area of dark grey (evidence of a cooking phenomenon in
reduction) to which adheres a thin ash deposit probably originated by the
combustion of organic origin material.
Part of the bottom of the bowl
is missing, most likely detached from the inside out due to the temperature
reached during combustion, although the thick-walled corrugated ceramic is well
known for its fire resistance and ability to spread and keep the heat constant
over the entire surface of the vase.
If this
vessel was produced in South America as stated in the catalogue of the auction
house, its date of production cannot be earlier than the Colonial period, as
the use of the potter’s wheel was introduced into the American continent by the
Europeans in the early sixteenth century.
4) a small fragment belonging
to a second ceramic vessel was found in accretion by the left sphenoid of the
Canidae’s skull. Possibly coming from a large vase of a closed shape decorated
with shallow horizontal grooves, the internal surface is missing while the
exterior is smooth. Originally cream coloured, it too presents the effects of
the reduction process in light grey. The decoration of this second vessel too
compares to European prototypes in use between the sixteenth and the end of the
eighteenth century, potteries imported or locally produced in the colonies in
the America’s as well as in Africa and South Asia.
The
vision of all these first observations helps to point the investigations to a
restricted group of scenarios. For
example, the lot miserably ended in the auction could come from a fire due to
accidental causes in a votive area; or the fire may have been intentionally
produced in the context, for instance, of ritual activities performed just
before a burial; or that it is the consequence of other human activities (i.e.
a war episode); or that the finds ended underground due to a chain of processes
generated by a natural catastrophe such as heavy rains or earthquakes causing
landslides, landslides, flooding of watercourses.
Intervention protocol and
laboratory tests
The identification of the
country of origin for the repatriation of the lot examined here, requires a
well-structured planning of interventions, to start an investigative operation
that proceeds on two main strands, scientific and police. This experience
offers the Dutch Ministries of competence for the control of public health,
trade, cultural heritage and scientific research the possibility of obtaining a
valid protocol of intervention in case of finds potentially capable of causing
pandemics, localized in auction houses, fairs and collectors’ markets, or
located by customs personnel at airports and other particularly crowded border
offices. Furthermore, the use of a protocol is of fundamental importance
for the police forces at the time of any operations such as the seizure of
finds illegally held, having to use equipment and methodologies in order to
protect themselves from any contagion and to avoid contaminations or physical
alterations to the finds.
The application of the
intervention protocol on the matter of bioarchaeological or physical
anthropological interest must be determined by the observation of the absence
or insufficiency of the documentation that accompanies them. In the first place
it will therefore be necessary to verify the validity or absence of:
– a permit issued by a health
official who excludes the presence of serious pathogens, to prevent
transmission and possible epidemic spread;
– documents attesting the
provenance of the findings and therefore the legitimate possession of the
current owner. Their invalidity or absence invalidates any sale or purchase
transactions;
– documents describing with
enough detail each single finding (including also measures, conservation
status, dating, possible sequence of owners, possible restorations or other
chemical and physical alterations suffered, presence in areas subject to epidemics
or significant radioactive activities).
The first act of the protocol
therefore derives from the lack of fundamental requirements that ensure a legal
detention, and consists of the preliminary examination of the findings
performed by specialized personnel, who knows and is able to apply the methodologies
and to use the necessary equipment.
In addition to having a testimonial value of the presence of the findings and
their state of conservation, the preliminary examination allows to formulate a
first overview of the situation and a basis on which to identify the needs of
scientific investigations and investigations.
Wherever they are located
(private homes, auction houses, shops, markets, customs offices, etc.), the
finds must be immediately secured, or placed in sealed containers using methods
and equipment indicated by the protocol and transported to laboratories where
specialized personnel can safely perform the preliminary examination.
The observations obtained from
the preliminary examination form the basis for deciding which laboratory tests
to perform and listing them according to their degree of importance for the
purposes of the survey, considering the relationship between their cost and the
available research funds. It is therefore up to the director of the
investigations to outline an operational line identifying, together with the
experts, which laboratory tests are of a primary importance, always keeping in
mind the cost-obtained information ratio in operational terms. In fact, the
quantity and quality of analytical applications available for the purposes of
forensic investigations are very extensive nowadays, and the costs
unfortunately almost always inversely proportional to the funds provided.
For example, in the case in
our set of findings, for repatriation and in the absence of data from
investigations carried out by law enforcement agencies, the following exams
would be necessary:
1) certificate issued by a
health official where the absence of evidence harmful to public health is
specified. If pathogenic agents are detected, they must be specified so that
the competent authorities decide how to secure the finds (for example in the
case of high levels of radioactivity or harmfulness of still active
microorganisms).
2) physical anthropological
and archaeozoological research:
– Osteological measurements
and comparative research;
– DNA analysis (human
remains);
– radiocarbon dates (C14)
(skulls and burnt organic materials present in the bowl of the bowl);
– mitochondrial DNA analysis
(mtDNA). For the evaluation of the affinity of the population, in particular
with one of the four haplogroups to which the native American populations
belong.
– stable isotopes of carbon
and oxygen present in human teeth and bones. This analysis to determine the
diet and habitat in which the individual lived during his last year of life.
– analysis of the pollens if
present in the soil contained in the skulls to identify the presence of
botanical species. It concurs to confirm or exclude the provenance from South
America.
– analysis of plant roots,
determination at specific level and measurements to date the excavation of the
lot. If recent, we may be in the presence of illegal excavation or theft in
museums or state stores.
– analysis of the abundant
organic remains concreted on the inner surface of the bowl.
3) Geological (petrographic,
sedimentological, pedological) studies useful to provide data on the formation
of the deposit containing the burial and the related geological and geographic
features of the site; the presence of evidence of natural phenomena such as
fires and floods, and of training processes related to human activities.
4) comparative analysis of
ceramic objects (bowl and fragment of the second vessel) to define the cultural
attribution and to identify the production area and the relative dating.
A stronger control on the
trade of finds of bioarchaeological interest
From what has been said so
far, the free marketing of items of bioarchaeological interest coming without
any indication of provenance and a certificate of clearance issued by a health
official is a potentially harmful act to public health. It is also unacceptable
from a legal point of view, as in the presence of modern remains without dating
that could come from criminal justice scenarios.
They cannot therefore be
considered mere collectible items until proven otherwise, provided by the
results of the analyses carried out based on a specific protocol and each EU
member state should intervene with precautionary sequences to be operated with
an emergency procedure wherever they are located.
But the problem is much
broader and more complex and lies essentially in the lack of efficient control
of the activities of auction houses, international smuggling and the laundering
of illegal capital. They need highly specialized and effective units in the
control of collecting and trading of “antiquities” and their falsifications of
provenance. The latter has currently reached aberrant levels in online
auctions, in the absence of laws that recognize the responsibility of the
experts in charge of control and which provide for penalties to be imposed in
the case of errors made in the application.
For example, the auction house
had to not only refuse to offer for sale the items here exposed, but it should
also have informed the police about the danger posed to public health based on
the total lack of documentation (and, of course, the Dutch Ministry of
Education, Culture and Science).
Here it is not the case of
usual fakes passed off for genuine artefacts (as in this very moment are
present in almost every auction), especially in those via internet protected by
supranational financial powers. It must be acknowledged that in the case of
this lot a dangerous leap in crime quality is observed which, by
offering parts of corpses from unknown situations, from fraud now comes to the
possibility of causing devastating physical damage to a single individual or to
many, to deadly pandemics.
If laboratory analyses will
confirm that these findings come from a recent discovery in South America, it
needs to know how it was possible that they have travelled and evaded
customs controls entering Europe, arriving in the Netherlands and, even more
disturbing, have been put for sale without causing any reaction by the state
control apparatus. But we are in the presence of an even more disturbing fact:
there has been no reaction from those tens of thousands of people who have
connected online in Europe, in the Americas, in Australia, in Japan, becoming
aware of the image and of the succinct description of the lot.
As archaeozoologist, I’m not surprised by the ongoing in this story. The absence of intervention by the State Authorities is not only attributable to the fear of exposing oneself to the reaction of powerful economic-financial lobbies and therefore of jeopardizing one’s bureaucratic careers. The main cause lies in the almost total absence of interest from the academic élite, strongly corporative and very influent in all the fields of the archaeological activities. Except for a few cases, it almost totally ignores the preservation of bioarchaeological findings not only at the commercial and even sanitary level (even if they are not directly responsible for), but also during archaeological excavation where, when not absent, in the happiest cases the experts are often marginalized at the laboratory stage. There are large parts of Europe where the sampling of these finds is still today entrusted to non-specialized personnel, to students and workers, often by gathering only some of the visible findings, greatly limiting and compromising the outcome of the wide range of possible studies. It is undeniable that there is a strong discrimination valuing the importance of materials of artistic interest in comparation to those of bioarchaeological interest.
The lot now remains at the disposal of the judicial authorities.
Footnotes
1 – J. Doe, a term used in the
United States by detectives to indicate the corpse, or the remains of the
decomposition, of a male (John) or female (Jane) individual.
2 –
Unfortunately it is not so. In specific environmental conditions, pathogens
even those capable of causing severe pandemics, can remain active for
millennia. In the case here examined, moreover, we are dealing with finds
dating not before the 16th century and, being present a decomposing organic
material, they may have become infected even after exhumation.
3 – Veilinggebouw de Zwaan, Catalogue “Algemene Kunst-
en Antiekveiling” 28 March -10 April 2018, Section “Archeologie en
Pre-Colombiaanse aardewerk“, p. 72, lot nr. 2058.
4 –
Invoice issued on 3 April 2018 by Veilinggebouw de Zwaan.
5 –
Air-bearing plastic sheets and a cardboard box were available for transport. To
handle the finds I used two latex gloves of the adherent type, which I
generally wore both during excavation activities to carry out the recovery of
bioarchaeological remains, and in the laboratory for the various phases of the
archaeozoological examinations.
From the block of earth containing the animal skull, substantial clumps of soil
accidentally detached. Because dry, the soil was collected in a plastic bag of
the type used in archaeology, then sealed in a plastic box accompanied by a
label inscribed with identification data.
6 – In
presence of a witness and without an apparent reason, I was heavily verbally
provoked by a stranger, later identified as a low-profile trader.
7 –
immediately putting it in safety together with the finds. A sort of small cubic
tent in transparent plastic have been mounted where a quick examination of the
lot was carried. During this activity I wore a mask with a high bacteriological
protection filter, latex gloves and a white coverall (of the disposable type
used for forensic investigations). The use of a UV lamp has been limited to the
room outside the small tent, as UV only partially removes the pathogens present
on the surface of the finds and in any case not inside the block of earth.
The use of impregnating substances in order to consolidate and disinfect the
sub-fossil finds, such as liquids to be applied by brush or spray, or spray,
was here avoid. It is not recommended in biological finds to be analysed: it
generally alters the organic composition and can seriously compromise the
results of physical and chemical measurements.
The small room and the materials used were subsequently disinfected (in the
case of presence of parasites), kept closed for a few hours and then long aired
for several days.
However, all these precautions diminish but do not eliminate a remote
possibility of contagion in the first days following the examination.
8 – I
tried in vain to get in touch with the employee of the auction house who had
overseen the sale of the archaeological session. After three days from the
purchase, on Friday 6 I decided to send him an e-mail to officially request
more information concerning the lot, briefly explaining the reasons for the
request. Up till now, no answer was given.
9 – having for many years practiced as an archaeozoologist, mainly carrying on osteozoological studies. For precautionary reasons, the examination took circa fifteen minutes.
