Officials seize indigenous artifacts at Puerto Rico airport

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Officials at Puerto Rico's main international airport seized five clay artifacts created by the Taino people who lived in the Caribbean before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

The small items were found in the luggage of a man who did not have the required permit to import them, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday. The five items appear to be fragments of larger pieces and at least one depicts a face, the statement said.

Spokesman Jeffrey Quinones said authorities were trying to determine whether the items came from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica or Puerto Rico.

Quinones said the unidentified traveler told authorities he was given the items while in the Dominican Republic. The unidentified man was not arrested because no crime was committed, the spokesman said.

Diseases brought by European settlers largely wiped out the Taino.

Officials seize indigenous artifacts at Puerto Rico airport