Monday, April 21, 2008

NAGPRA update Back to the earth?
They lived, died and were buried along the banks of the Kanawha River. But the American Indians' skeletons wouldn't stay under the soil forever.

In 1963, West Virginia's first state archaeologist began a two-year excavation in Buffalo, less than a mile from the present-day Toyota plant. Crews unearthed countless artifacts and the outlines of homes and a stockade - remnants of a village where people had lived 400 to 500 years before.


Sounds like the archaeologists would have a good case to block any repatriation as the remains have already been judged to be culturally unaffiliated, hence NAGPRA doesn't even come into play.