[meteorite-list] Property Ownership in Peru/History's Highest Meteorite Fall

From: Kevin Kichinka <marsrox_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 15:44:16 -0600
Message-ID: <5bb98d570710041444h53234a6aj44c9c1f7bedf39c4_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hola a todos:

I would like to comment on some of the aspects of the Peru meteorite.
This will be message "One of Two."

First, I would like to share the following, transmitted to me and used
by permission from Astronomer Gonzalo Pereira of the Planetario Max
Schreirer in La Paz, Bolivia. Before the arrival of the Farmer team,
he was likely the most qualified scientist to visit and investigate
the site.

"Not all the land of Peru is private; it depends on where the presence
of Aymara, Quechua and Uru Indians is strong. They live like
pre-Columbian times organized in communities (comunidades). In the
case of the crater region for example, the name of the community is
Carancas and has five sectors: La Casilla, Patani, Siricaya, Irpa
Siricalla and Huanocollo. In the last sector fell the meteorite.

The authority of this community is Mr. Maximiliano Trujillo and every sector
has is own authority or "Teniente". All of these are now working to keep the
crater.

These authorities are elected by the members of the community, and are a
local power parallel to the State of Peru (police, majors, etc). They
decide how to transfer the land to the people, as the owners of this land are
all the people of the community. The authorities decide which land
corresponds to someone and whether this land is for agriculture or for the
llamas. Nobody can sell this land because nobody is the particular owner. If
some authority sells parts of the land, the community can condemn him to die
(Communitarian Justice)."

Based on this, I wonder if or how these traditional "property rights"
would apply to Dr. Randall "Jack Daniels" Gregory's written
description of his "handshake deal" to purchase the land and
subsequent claim of ownership of land adjacent to and/or including the
crater.

If Dr. Daniels-Gregory is not a citizen of Peru, I also wonder if a
foreigner is even allowed by Peru or traditional law to own such land.

Further, it is impossible to "steal" meteorites if those who control
the land willfully sell them or allow their collection. The legitimacy
of the agreed, final price of the specimen is irrelevant if "there is
a meeting of the minds."

Personally, I don't find those who feel happily obliged to pay "a
Peruvian's year's wages" for a rock specimen to be praise-worthy. This
dislocates the local economy and now prevents local scientists there
from affording any other recovered specimens. Local economies vary,
and I feel no guilt paying my gardener $1.60/hr here in Costa Rica and
not the $15/hour I would pay him were we in Florida. In the Florida
economy I cannot afford this service and do my own gardening there
since conversely, no one is willing to work in my garden for the wage
they earned in Mexico.

With due respect to Dr. Grossman and his comment about a Tibetan met,
presently, Sevaruyo H5, found at 3,749m on June 11, 2001 by the team
of Kevin Kichinka, Blaine Reed, Rubber Munoz and Martin Choquetuanca,
Bolivia's first authenticated find, presently holds the only fully
documented altitude record verified by GPS. I mention this because I
am very proud to have put this group together that worked cheerfully
as a team under difficult circumstances and succeeded in the mission.

It would seem likely that the short list of possible names for this as
yet unclassified meteorite will include "Huanocollo" or "Carancas".

More to follow.....

Kevin Kichinka
Received on Thu 04 Oct 2007 05:44:16 PM PDT