In the United States at auction was sold “Picture Cave” with rock paintings over a thousand years old, according to The Guardian.
The bidder, who wished to remain anonymous, bought it and the surrounding land for $ 2.2 million.
Since 1953, the cave and its surroundings have belonged to a family from the city of St. Louis, who used this place for hunting. While for the indigenous peoples of America, this place is sacred. Their ancestors buried the dead here and performed rituals. More than 290 drawings have been preserved on the walls of the cave.
Representatives of the Osage tribe learned about the sale last year; at the same time they tried to buy the object directly. However, they failed to do so – the money offered was not enough.
Anthropologist Carol Diaz-Granados, who, along with her husband James Duncan, spent 20 years studying the Picture Cave and wrote a book about it, also opposed the auction.
“The sale of the sacred place to the American Indians is sending the wrong signal. It’s like putting a Sistine Chapel under the hammer,” said the researcher.