THE CREEPY FOREST - The Truth About Artifact Authentication and Fraud

 

The Creepy Forest

by John Bradford Branney

The Dangerous and Creepy Forest

My creepy tale has several animal characters in it, some good and some bad. The animal characters include wolves, sheep, pigs, owls, squawky birds, and busy bees. Before I begin my creepy story, let me first tell you why I wrote it.      

The hobby of prehistoric artifact collecting is under attack.

I am not referring to the federal government cracking down on our artifact hunting freedom, not this time anyway, and I am not referring to the threat to our hunting grounds from urban sprawl or land development, although, urban sprawl and land development do threaten many places where we hunt artifacts. The attack of our hobby is coming from a few unscrupulous characters who are knowingly selling modern artifacts as authentic prehistoric artifacts. These unscrupulous characters are defrauding the public and ruining our hobby. To add insult to injury, some of these unscrupulous characters are fellow artifact collectors.  

I challenge each of you to go to the website of the world’s largest auction company. You know the one. Type into its search engine Folsom point or Scottsbluff point or Clovis point or bannerstones or any other rare prehistoric artifact and see what pops up. How many of these “so-called artifacts” look authentic? On a good day, it might be fifty percent. Some misguided or dishonest sellers or Bad Wolves are peddling modern reproductions as authentic prehistoric artifacts to an unsuspecting public. These Bad Wolves are preying on the Sheep, uninformed, or trusting artifact collectors. These Bad Wolves are also taking advantage of the Pigs, greedy collectors who think they are buying high-end prehistoric artifacts at bargain-basement prices.    

Unfortunately, my creepy tale does not end with just Bad Wolves, Sheep, and Pigs. My story is much creepier than you can imagine. If you are a true prehistoric artifact collector, you probably already know where this story is heading, and it may disgust you as much as it does me.    

 

Figure One – When something looks too good to be true, it usually is. A 4.6-inch-long fake Angostura point reportedly found in Wyoming. Made from slab-cut Edwards Chert from Texas. Killed by authenticator Greg Perino. The artifact value is zero.

I am old enough to remember the days when artifact reproductions looked like artifact reproductions. Times have changed. Flintknapping has become extremely popular and there are some very talented flintknappers out there, creating reproductions by the bushel basket. These flintknapping virtuosos can fool almost anyone with their attention to detail and with their hard to detect, ingenious physical and chemical methods of applying fake patination to artifact reproductions. In my creepy forest, I will call these flint knapping virtuosos the Busy Bees since they knap flint as if it is going out of style. These Busy Bees pride themselves on the accuracy of their creations, diligently studying the knapping styles and technologies that prehistoric people used to create tools and weaponry. Then, the Busy Bees create realistic reproductions of Clovis points and Cody Complex points and Dovetails and many other types of prehistoric artifacts. The responsible Busy Bees indelibly mark and document their works of art to ensure that their reproductions do not end up in the greedy paws of the Bad Wolves. However, some of the artifact reproductions end up in the greedy paws of the Bad Wolves who then misrepresent them as authentic prehistoric artifacts. They might put an old tag on the artifact to make it look old and the stories...the Bad Wolf provides a story about some old granddad finding the artifact down by the creek to go along with his or her deception. The Bad Wolves knowingly commit fraud for the sole purpose of making money from gullible Sheep and greedy Pigs.  Not all Wolves, or artifact sellers, are crooked. In fact, most Wolves are honest, but a few renegade Bad Wolves spoil the entire forest. 

Figure Two – An Agate Basin reproduction sold as an authentic artifact from northern Wyoming. Flaking is wrong and the faker ground off the high spots with Dremel tool (circled).
This reproduction has never been to Wyoming. Killed by Greg Perino. Artifact value is zero.

Do I believe that the Bad Wolves know what they are doing when selling reproductions as authentic prehistoric artifacts? Yes. I believe that most of them should know or do know and do not care. I have contacted several of these Bad Wolves to give them my opinion on what they are doing. None of these Bad Wolves have ever responded to me with an explanation. A few have actually "blocked me' from ever contacting them again. My gut feel is most of them know exactly what they are doing! The real creepy part is that a few of these Bad Wolves are members of archaeological and collector associations, including G.I.R.S. Yes, our enemy is right in our midst. Of course, these Bad Wolves do not use their real names on the auction sites. They use clever little handles and change these handles routinely to keep one step ahead of the posse. Many experienced collectors know the names of these Bad Wolves, but do nothing to stop them, probably because fraud is much harder to prove than slander.   

It is time for me to introduce another animal to this creepy story. Just like there are both good and bad Wolves, there are also good and bad Busy Bees. I am going to call the bad Busy Bees, the Killer Bees. As previously mentioned, the responsible flintknappers are doing everything possible to prevent Bad Wolves from selling their reproductions as authentic prehistoric artifacts. On the other hand, the Killer Bees, or the crooked flintknappers, are like the Bad Wolves, they are only in it for the money. The Killer Bees care less about the health of the hive or the taste of the honey or the forest or the Sheep or the Pigs. The Killer Bees sell their recently knapped reproductions to the Bad Wolves and the Bad Wolves then peddle them to the Sheep and the Pigs. In this creepy partnership, the Killer Bees and the Bad Wolves steal lots of hard-earned money from the Sheep and Pigs. The Sheep and Pigs may ultimately wake up and realize that they have been fleeced or made into bacon, but by then it is too late to do anything about it. “Besides,” the Bad Wolves boast, “artifact authenticity is an opinion, and it is my opinion that artifact is authentic.” This is the get-out-of-jail-free card for all Bad Wolves! 

Figure Three – If it is too good to be true it usually is. Who would NOT want this beauty in their collection? However, it is a fake Goshen-Plainview point made from a thin slab of Edwards Chert and allegedly found in Wyoming. On the backside, the faker ground the high spots down with a Dremel, leaving rotary tool marks. Greg Perino killed this fake. Artifact value is zero.

The subject of artifact authenticity allows me the opportunity to introduce another animal to our forest, the Wise Owl, or the ethical artifact authenticator. For those of you unfamiliar with what an ethical artifact authenticator does, here is my definition; the ethical artifact authenticator supplies a buyer or seller an unbiased and well-thought-out opinion as to the authenticity and type of the alleged prehistoric artifact.    

Two or three decades ago there were very few Wise Owls in the forest. At that time, the Wise Owls had credibility. One of those Wise Owls was a man by the name of Gregory Perino. I shall call Mr. Perino the Wisest Ole Owl of the forest. Greg Perino had experience, knowledge, and most importantly, integrity. From near and far, Pigs and Sheep came to him for his opinion on artifacts. The Wisest Ole Owl was not too proud to admit when he did not have an answer. He sent me off to another artifact authenticator on more than one occasion. He killed and authenticated artifacts only if he had good reason to do so. That is called integrity. Mr. Perino died on July 4, 2005. The Sheep demanded that someone fill the void left behind by the Wisest Ole Owl. Birds of different feathers flocked to the forest, touting that they could fill the void left behind by the Wisest Ole Owl. Many of these Squawking Birds were all squawk and no action. They were not experienced, knowledgeable, experienced, and trusted. The Squawking Birds made a lot of noise, but none would ever match the Wisest Ole Owl. Most would never be more than loud and obnoxious Squawking Birds.

Squawking Birds and a handful of Owls inhabit today’s creepy forest. A few low-integrity Squawking Birds are more than happy to play along with the Bad Wolves' money-grubbing schemes. The Bad Wolves send their doctored-up, fake-story reproductions to the complicit Squawking Birds. A few Squawking Birds become entangled in the fraud against the artifact community but justify their actions by proclaiming “artifact authenticity is an opinion”. Squawking Birds do not protect the Sheep and the Pigs from the Bad Wolves. There are one or two Squawking Birds that actually work side-by-side with the Bad Wolves to fleece the Sheep and the Pigs, and knowledgeable collectors know who they are!

The forest is now a corrupt and creepy place to live.

Figure Four – Poor example of a high plains Scottsbluff point. Flaking is off and “Disneyland” material not right for the area. Dwain Rogers and Greg Perino killed this artifact. Artifact value is zero.

However, there is hope for the forest! Two more birds live in the forest. The first of these birds are the Eagles that fly straight and true. When Eagles see something wrong, they do something about it. Eagles stand tall over the trees of the forest and do not cower when facing Bad Wolves or Killer Bees or Squawking Birds. Eagles put fear in the hearts of these bad animals because Eagles do not tolerate dishonesty or corruption in the forest.  

Another bird of the forest is the Ostrich. Ostriches do not like conflict. When Ostriches see conflict, they skedaddle like the wind and hide until the trouble blows over. Ostriches declare it is none of their business what the Bad Wolves and others do. Ostriches stick their heads in the sand and hope everything will be better tomorrow.   

Which animal best describes you?       

When we can no longer tell the difference between a prehistoric artifact and a three-day-old reproduction, it is time to stick a fork in our hobby. We are at that point in time. On a weekly basis, The Bad Wolves are literally selling hundreds of reproductions as authentic prehistoric artifacts. Greedy or naïve buyers continue to pay hard-earned money to corrupt sellers for artifact reproductions. The corruption has reached epic proportions and it threatens ALL honest collectors and authentic collections.

What can WE do to save our hobby?  

1). Continual education. We are at the equivalency of an arms race. We find the fakes, and the scoundrels come up with a better way to fool us. Crack the books. Join a few artifact forums on social media and study and learn from knowledgeable and experienced collectors. Ask others who you can trust in our hobby as far as sellers and authenticators. Avoid the rest. 

2). There is no Santa Claus in artifact collecting. A big old billboard hangs above our hobby that reads “BUYERS BEWARE”. There is no regulation or oversight in our hobby. Unless you trust the seller, buying artifacts can be equivalent to jumping into a den of hungry wolves. Before you know it, the wolves have eaten through your pocketbook. They are not only selling expensive reproductions but also selling less expensive reproductions. These corrupt sellers do not care if they defraud you for fifty bucks or five thousand bucks, it is their nature to prey on the inexperienced and the greedy.  

3). If you are a flint knapper and sell your modern art on the open market, please document your work. Permanently mark or brand your modern art so a corrupt seller will at least have to work at defrauding the public. Photograph each piece with information on when you made it. Publish your flint knapping art on a website or social media site so collectors know what you have done, so if it does show up in the authentic market, there is supporting documentation of its origin.

 4). All certificates of authenticity are not equal. I can count on three fingers the authenticators I trust, and I still personally kick the tires on every one of my artifacts. Most certificates of authenticity are close to worthless. Just because an artifact comes with a certificate of authenticity does not mean it is authentic or valuable. Knowledgeable collectors KNOW who the dishonest and bad authenticators are, if you do not know, ask a knowledgeable collector who to use to authenticate BEFORE you spend the money on an artifact.

5). If a seller does not allow you enough time to have an artifact verified by an ethical authenticator, walk away. If a seller wants you to accept a certificate of authenticity from his authenticator, walk away. The only way to stop this rampant fraud is to starve these unscrupulous sellers out of existence!     

5). Even if you have a solid certificate of authenticity, learn to evaluate artifacts yourself. There are many good books on the subject. If you plan on buying artifacts, spend the money on a good microscope or magnifying loupe and study tons of authentic points under magnification. Know what to look for. It is your hard-earned money spent, not the authenticator’s money! Make sure YOU are 100% confident in the artifact.

6). If you are an ostrich and care about our hobby, pull your head out of the sand. Be proactive. Help us defend our hobby and our passion, just do not accept the status quo. Do something! Do anything! No action is condoning this activity! No action is what an Ostrich does!  

7). If you see blatant 'artifakes' on auction sites or websites, report them to the administrator of the site. I report many reproduction-as-authentic listings when I see them. If we do nothing to stop this nonsense, expect nothing to happen!   

I am sure there are one hundred more things that we must do to counterattack the assault on our hobby. The operative five words in my last sentence are things that we must do!

Final word?

I harmed no animals in the making of this story, except for damaging the animals’ reputation by comparing them to some awfully bad, dishonest humans. I do apologize to the animals for casting such a negative light on their species with this comparison.

About the Author 

John Bradford Branney is a Wyoming native living in the Colorado mountains. He has hunted prehistoric artifacts for over fifty years in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South and North Dakota, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, and Texas. Branney has written dozens of magazine articles and ten books on Prehistoric America and other aspects of life.