I was reading about the Ica stones last week and it's an interesting story. Apparently, they're fairly common and wash up on some shore or another often. One of the local retired doctors saw a fellow native with one and inquired about it. The native explained that (for some reason) the cartels pay money for them so the locals will sell them to the cartels when the stones are found. The doctor was fascinated by them and asked around, offering to buy several stones for the US equivalent of $50.00. He showed them to some museums but it's illegal to have archaeological finds in his country and he got in a bit of trouble (facing prison time!) so he said that he made them (which is not illegal). No one asked him to demonstrate making them and he was not known to be artistic before he came in possession of the stones but, realizing he may lose his freedom, he found a local artist and commissioned him to make some that look just like them. He still retains possession of the original stones (and apparently still buys from the locals when they find washed up stones) but he keeps those separate from the commissioned works. He's between a rock and a hard place legally (no pun intended). He can't say they're authentic or he goes to jail and he can't say they're fake or his reputation is ruined so he says he commissions "art". He does sell the commissioned ones but not the original stones even though he will show them to interested parties (Graham Hancock, etc.).Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: whitewaveDate: 2018-08-15 19:57:44Reaction Score: 3

