Christian zealots destroy ancient Arctic petroglyphs

[L. Coyote]

Canada's only major Arctic petroglyph site -- a 1,500-year-old gallery of mysterious faces carved into a soapstone ridge on a tiny island off of Quebec's northern coast -- has been ransacked by vandals in what the region's top archeologist suspects was a religiously motivated attack by devout Christians ...........

http://alkman1.blogspot.com/2006_09_03_archive.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Jesus H. Christ. Just like the Taliban demolished the Buddhas in Afghanistan.

What a horrendous, childish thing to do.

From the article:

~snip~
Long-running negotiations between Nunavut, Quebec and the federal government over the ownership of the Hudson Strait islands has delayed for a decade plans to protect the cultural treasure, which Arctic scholars have touted as a natural candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Two ancient African rock art sites achieved that status earlier this summer, and Canada recently short-listed Alberta's Writing-on-Stone petroglyphs for a UNESCO designation.

Now, dreams of global renown for Qajartalik may be dashed after a visit to the island last month by Quebec cultural officials revealed extensive damage to the prehistoric drawings, including deep gouges across many of the faces.

"This is a world-class site," a despondent Robert Frechette, director of the nearby Pingualuit provincial park in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, told CanWest News Service on Friday.

"I first visited the island 12 years ago and I can see that every time it's deteriorated," he said, describing how tourist looting and natural erosion of the site's soft soapstone first prompted preservation proposals in the 1990s.

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From an article written about the etchings in 2001, before theses loons were moved to try to erase the evidence of ancient, human life in the very same spot:

June 8, 2001

Qajartalik’s ancient faces to receive more study
Mysterious rock carvings on Nunavik island may reveal secrets about Arctic pre-history.
JANE GEORGE
Nunatsiaq News

QUEBEC CITY — Research on Nunavik’s unique rock drawings is set to resume this summer.

Nunavik’s cultural institute, Avataq, is beginning a three-year study with McGill University and Université Laval to chart the Ungava Bay coastline between Quaqtaq and Salluit — a region that’s been inhabited for thousands of years.

"We want to understand the human picture, to get a complete picture of the place," said Daniel Gendron, Avataq’s head archeologist.

Canada’s Social Science Research Council is contributing $600,000 towards the study. Over the next three years, Avataq and the universities will look for traces left by the people who once lived in the region.

As part of these efforts, a small group of archeologists, rock-art experts and local students will head to Qajartalik Island in July.

More:
http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut010630/nvt10608_15.html

[L. Coyote]

2. Thanks.

Google "The Rock Art Pages" and save a year of hiking to see the glyphs.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Just took a first look. Wonderful site. It's truly something to share with many. Thanks. n/t