Ancient Native Americans

This week we documented a burial found by Lannie and Glenys Sitterud. It was originally found two years ago, and Mr. Sitterud reported it to the appropriate agencies, in compliance with state and federal laws, and in accordance with NAGPRA-- the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. First, local law enforcement officers visited the site and determined the remains are not of interest to law enforcement, i.e., not a missing person or a victim of foul play-- but probably an archaeological find. Next the appropriate archaeologists and land managers visited the site and began the consultation process, contacting several tribes that have an interest in remains from this region, and may claim affiliation. The burial was eroding out of a natural cutbank. Several tribes indicated they would like the remains to be removed and reburied, several others preferred that the burial be left to erode naturally. To date none of the contacted tribes have visited the site, so the remains are still in consultation.

Human remains can provide a great deal of information about prehistoric people and past lifeways. For archaeologists, these are a very important part of the past. For some people, however, these remains are viewed as sacred. NAGPRA requires a series of consultations and decisions by the appropriate agency consultants and Native American Tribes when certain types of remains are found. Sometimes the issues are very complex, and sometimes there are many different opinions about the best approach. There is no one solution, and each situation is unique.

Questions to think about: Are human remains sacred? Whose remains are sacred to you? Should osteological analyses, metric analyses, dna studies, and chemical analyses be conducted on Native American remains prior to repatriation? Should they be radiocarbon dated? If so, who should fund those analyses? Who should fund repatriation? Who should determine the affiliation of prehistoric human remains, and the relationship between past cultures and living peoples?

Terms to know: Paleodemography, Biological affinity, NAGPRA, Paleopathology, Secondary interment, Repatriate, Paleodietary analysis, Funerary objects

For more info about human remains or the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, visit the following websites from my online archaeology course:

Human Skeletal Remains

NAGPRA