Re:(2) Thailand fossils

["Terry Colvin" <colvint@CC.IMS.DISA.MIL>]

     On 26 April Mikiel <Mikiel@ASU.Edu> wrote:
     Quote
     There is a short article in this week's (1 May 1995) *Newsweek*
     (page 8) about dinosaur fossils in Thailand. Apparently, "residents of 
     impoverished northeastern Thailand" have been robbing dino excavations 
     for fossils for the last two years. They then sell the fossils to 
     "artisans" who carve little Buddhas out of them, and sell them for up 
     to $400. Thought you'd like to know.
     Unquote
     
     Has anyone ventured any statistics (quantified guesses or scientific
     wild ass guesses) on how much dinosaur fossil material is lost through 
     misuse, commercialization, and just plain old ignorance of laypeople 
     who see fossils, but don't recognize it? Here in SE Arizona the local 
     archaeology club is identifying ancient horse, camel and buffalo sites 
     which local people have overlooked for years as cattle and modern 
     horse bones.
     
     Full *Newsweek* article follows: Quote - Small photo of carved Buddha 
     amulet and piece of fossil bone with caption "Jurassic-era good-luck 
     charm" [photo credit Somkid Chaijitvanit of the *Bangkok Post* news-
     paper] - ARTIFACTS/Fossil Power/ They didn't keep *Tyrannosaurus rex* 
     from dying off, but dinosaur fossils are being hailed in Thailand as 
     the best all-round elixir since rhino horns. For two years, residents 
     of impoverished northeastern Thailand have been stripping unguarded 
     excavation sites. They sell the fossils to artisans, who carve them 
     into tiny Buddha amulets and sell them for up to $400 each. For 
     locals, a one-night haul can mean $1,000 in cash -- more than the 
     average per capita annual income there. But for the fossil pits, it 
     means certain extinction. by Carla Koehl and Lucy Howard with bureau 
     reports - Unquote
     
     Terry W. Colvin
     <colvint@cc.ims.disa.mil>
     Cochise County, Arizona