Being Indiana Jones only works in the movies: Jonathan Bourne faces 21 felony counts for looting archaeological sites
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Mono County anesthesiologist Jonathan Bourne faces 21 felony charges for allegedly looting Native American artifacts from tribal, public and government lands. These allegations come after a year-long federal investigation which was set into place after photographs of Bourne were found on a hiking website showing him digging up artifacts from a melting glacier in the High Sierra.
If Bourne is convicted on all counts, he will face up to 98 years in prison, along with a forfeiture of all vehicles and equipment used in illegally carrying artifacts off of their respective sites, reports the Los Angeles Times Oct. 5.
Last December, federal agents searched Bourne’s mansion and found 30,000 artifacts believed to have been illegally taken from hundreds of sites across the West. Bourne’s indictment lists 32 specific items which were taken from Death Valley National Park, Sierra National Forest and a cremation burial site in the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest.
“The remains of prehistoric and historic cultures belong to all of us. When artifacts are stolen and archaeological sites are destroyed, we lose important clues about the past,” reads a message on the homepage for the Society for American Archaeology. "Collecting artifacts on public lands is not harmless fun — it's a serious crime," stated U.S. Bureau of Land Management archaeologist Greg Haverstock to the LA Times. "It damages archaeological records and the shared heritage of our nation. It also impacts tribal members who regard the removal of such items as sacrilegious."
The 30,000 artifacts found in Bourne’s mansion encompassed an archaeological record spanning more than 11,000 years. Bourne also had logbooks in his possession which noted details about each of his archaeological finds. Artifacts in Bourne’s possession included dart tips, obsidian cutting tools, etched stone tablets, glass beads, and a juniper bow from the melting glacier in the Sierra National Forest.
Bourne is being charged with eight counts of unlawful transport of archaeological artifacts from public lands; six counts of illegal digging, removal and destruction of ancient artifacts, six counts of destruction to government property; and one count of stolen government property.
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