Bus Passenger Caught With Ancient Relics
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MEXICO CITY — A routine search of a bus passenger in rural Mexico turned up quite the archeological surprise: 177 pre-Columbian relics dating as far back as 2,500 years.
The federal attorney general’s office said 147 tools and figures made of clay and 30 carved from obsidian were discovered, including bowls, arrowheads, axes and figurines.
Miguel Angel Saldivar was arrested outside the town of Juchitan, about 300 miles southeast of Mexico City.
He told police that he found the items on a farm in the state of Oaxaca.
Under Mexican law, archeological relics are national property, belonging to the state, and cannot be sold to private collectors.
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