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Petroglyph A tiny petroglyph of a man carved onto a piece of coral being auctioned online has prompted a complaint from those who question the ethics of putting native Hawaiian items up for sale.
online auction
draws complaint
The carving is billed as being
from a cave by Waimea FallsBy Burl Burlingame
Star-BulletinThe item being sold on eBay is labeled a "Very Old Hawaiian Picturegraph Artifact."
Erik J. Berean of EJB Collectibles, New Windsor, N.Y., says it is from "a cave near Waimea Falls" on Oahu and was taken about two years ago.
"I was given this piece by a friend who also works for the state of Hawaii," Berean replied to emailed questions from the Star-Bulletin. "This is a common artifact made in the early 1900s. These were trade pieces, very common. They are found all over the island and have no significant value to the museums, since there have been exactly 3,420 pieces found. A lot of these pieces were given to the archeological team members.
"I myself have found many artifacts for the state and the people. Some ... are left alone but are marked off so that people can see them and learn about our history. They are usually blocked off with fiberglass, so that they remain undisturbed."
Last night, the bidding, which opened at $9.99, was at $50. Bidding was to end at 7:38 a.m. today, Hawaii Standard Time.
Hawaiian antiquities dealer Leo Fortess says such carvings "are not naturally burial items, plus, there's an awful lot of fakes being made up on the North Shore. Everyone and his brother is busy carving these things. You can knock one out in an hour."
Star-Bulletin online reader Hoku Paoa Stevenson complained to eBay management about the sale, as items from Native American sites are not normally offered, he said.
eBay did not return an email from the Star-Bulletin.
"This guy needs to be stopped immediately before it sells and gets lost forever, and ideally he should be arrested and prosecuted," said Stevenson. "That cave was probably a burial spot on someone's private property."
Stevenson said there is a heightened awareness of native Hawaiian items because of the controversy surrounding the "Forbes Cave" artifacts. A native Hawaiian group returned the artifacts from the Bishop Museum to a burial cave on the Big Island.
At the time, Hawaiiana scholar Herb Kane expressed concern the items could be stolen again and said he "wouldn't be surprised if they showed up on eBay."