Dealing with human remains

[Tom Harper]

This is the discussion thread for issues of dealing with the discovery of human remains:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=705391

[skymind]

Hi Tom,

Were any form of artifacts visible with the remains?

Tom

[quailbird]

Is this a site you found or is it a site that you knew about. What a great thread! So, because it is beside the wagon tracks could it be that someone died while on their journey, or did the wagon tracks just start the process of erosion which uncovered the bones?

[Tom Harper]

Skymind,

As far as I know there were no burial artifacts. I was not there when the bones were exumed.

Quailbird,

I was with two archeologists on the first find. I had been through that erosion cut numerous times. I had even looked directly at the bones without recognition. One of the archaeologists was a student who was working in an osteology lab. She spotted them right away.

The child's grave I discovered a few months later.

I thought about the first two burials being associated with the wagon trail. But, the archaeologists said they were Native American. The wagons just started the erosion that exposed the bones.

There were lots of artifacts around the third grave, but none were part of the burial. I found lithics, ceramics, manos and fire pits. All of these graves were within fifty feet of present or past county roads.

Tom

[skymind]

It seems in that area that any of those area's of erosion seen in the aerial view to be places to look for remains.

[Tom Harper]

That's true. But, considering the number of Native Americans who have passed away on this continent over the last 20, 000 years it is also true of any erosion disturbance in the US.

That is why I think this topic is important. There are too many folks around who are willing to rob graves.

[kd7ost]

Great thread and great information Tom.

I'm uncertain of my own chances of running into old bones in my area but the potential is there and I've certainly pondered it. I know the local district BLM archeologist so I knew I would note the coordinates, take some pictures and notify her without touching anything. Like you, I'm real bent on the historical preservation aspect of what we do with what we find out there.

We have a lot of old wagon trails around here. They stay intact pretty well due to geological material and the sheer remoteness of their locations. I've read that when travelers found a dead person along those routes, that they respectfully buried them pretty much where they were found. They lacked the resources in most cases to load them up and take them along their journey. These have become unmarked and forgotten graves. But it would be like a needle in a haystack to find one. In my basalt rich region the most likely sign would be a pile of rocks that don’t fit into the normal erosion patterns. You don’t dig deep in basalt. There are plenty of places where sand and light soil would lend themselves to deeper burials. There are plenty of marked “Settler Cemeteries” in the region where most of the folks are accounted for. But this is for the more recent vintage (post 1800’s) burials and generally was the white man but also included the Chinese immigrants.

I don’t have a handle on the Native American burials yet and where they might be. I haven’t made it a point to research that yet as I have much to do in exploring the routes right now. Your post and pictures give me a great insight as to what to look out for and how to handle it in case I do find old burials.

Dan