Southwest Georgia former home of largest Indian civilizations

BLAKELY - About 1,500 years ago, one of North America&#39;s largest native-American civilizations thrived amid the longleaf pines of southwestern Georgia. <br> <br> The people made human sacrifices, created exquisite pottery, crafted delicate animal figurines and built an imposing temple mound, where chiefs and priests presided. <br> <br> The treasures were unearthed by archaeologists in the 1950s and the state built a museum into the side of a burial mound to display them. <br> <br> Over the years, thousands of schoolchildren, tourists and scholars trekked to the site to learn about the Swift Creek and Weeden Island Indians, who lived near Blakely from 250 to 950 AD. But in the dark of night in March 1974, thieves broke into the museum of the Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park and took 129 artifacts. <br> <br> A handful of items have been recovered from collectors and flea markets in Florida and Pennsylvania, but the whereabouts of the bulk of them remains a mystery. <br> <br> Now park officials are turning to the Internet for help in recovering the remaining booty from Georgia&#39;s most infamous archaeological theft. They&#39;ve launched a Web site with pictures of the purloined pottery asking art collectors, museums and others to help them gather the stolen merchandise. <br> <br> Eric Bentley, the park&#39;s manager, says the theft was particularly loathsome because it amounted to grave robbing. Many of the clay pots and fanciful figurines were made to honor chiefs and priests who had died.