Mystery of the Stolen Artifacts
Unit 7
Topic 2 – Reading 7
Mystery of the Stolen Artifacts
Federal and state laws protect archaeological remains on public lands. These laws are important for preserving our national and state heritage. Unfortunately, there are people who discover these sites, excavate the artifacts, and sell them for personal gain.
These people are called “pot hunters”.
This script is a fictional trial of a Mr. Pete Anderson who was accused of illegally taking archeological artifacts from public land.
During a “sting” operation that had been organized to catch and prosecute “pot hunters” he tried to sell ancient pottery to a state investigator. One piece of evidence used in the trial is genetic information from modern plant remains that were found inside one of the pots. This activity includes a transcript of the trial and the evidence. View the Evidence
Mr. Pete Anderson attempted to sell some ancient pots to a state agent, Suzanne Smith, during a sting operation that had been organized to find and prosecute people who loot archaeological sites. The pots appeared to be from the Anasazi cultural group.
Inside one of the pots were modern plant remains that looked like parts of a daisy. The state agent knew of an Anasazi site that had been looted during the summer. She went to the site and found that three types of daisies grew in that area. The three types of daisies are shown below.
Outwardly, the three types of plants look pretty much the same.
X. confertifolia
Senior Biology
1 of 11
Topic 2 – Reading 7
Unit 7
X. tortifolia
X. cronquistii
2 of 11
Senior Biology
Unit 7
The state agent investigating the possible theft of the Anasazi pots sought expert advice from the state botanist regarding the daisy-like plants she had found. The botanist told the investigating agent that the daisies might represent different species.
Specifically, the agent was advised that the size of the “compositase” protein could be a clue to the identity of the plants.
Proteins from all three
Topic 2 – Reading 7
Mystery of the Stolen Artifacts
Federal and state laws protect archaeological remains on public lands. These laws are important for preserving our national and state heritage. Unfortunately, there are people who discover these sites, excavate the artifacts, and sell them for personal gain.
These people are called “pot hunters”.
This script is a fictional trial of a Mr. Pete Anderson who was accused of illegally taking archeological artifacts from public land.
During a “sting” operation that had been organized to catch and prosecute “pot hunters” he tried to sell ancient pottery to a state investigator. One piece of evidence used in the trial is genetic information from modern plant remains that were found inside one of the pots. This activity includes a transcript of the trial and the evidence. View the Evidence
Mr. Pete Anderson attempted to sell some ancient pots to a state agent, Suzanne Smith, during a sting operation that had been organized to find and prosecute people who loot archaeological sites. The pots appeared to be from the Anasazi cultural group.
Inside one of the pots were modern plant remains that looked like parts of a daisy. The state agent knew of an Anasazi site that had been looted during the summer. She went to the site and found that three types of daisies grew in that area. The three types of daisies are shown below.
Outwardly, the three types of plants look pretty much the same.
X. confertifolia
Senior Biology
1 of 11
Topic 2 – Reading 7
Unit 7
X. tortifolia
X. cronquistii
2 of 11
Senior Biology
Unit 7
The state agent investigating the possible theft of the Anasazi pots sought expert advice from the state botanist regarding the daisy-like plants she had found. The botanist told the investigating agent that the daisies might represent different species.
Specifically, the agent was advised that the size of the “compositase” protein could be a clue to the identity of the plants.
Proteins from all three