MIXED-BLOODS-L Archives

From: Patricia Gunter <>
Subject: [MIXED-BLOODS] Native American skull found of roadway near Pinecrest (CA)
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 17:36:06 -0700 (PDT)

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2003 08:23:01 -0700

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10992


Native American skull found of roadway near Pinecrest (CA)


By AMY LINDBLOM


A Native American skull stuffed with newspaper and wrapped in a plastic
bag was found in bushes in the Pinecrest area Saturday.


Found by three Riverbank men out hiking, the skull - believed to be at
least 50 years old and taken from a gravesite - will likely be given to
the
Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk and buried according to tribal customs.


The skull was found after Eric Reynolds, 18, saw a gray plastic bag
stuffed
into a nook in a lava rock. He pulled the bag out, but when he saw a
human
skull inside, he and his friends "freaked out," they later told
authorities, tossed it away and drove home.


The next day, the men notified the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department.
Deputy Rob Lyons drove to the area and found the skull.


The exact location is being withheld. It will be thoroughly searched for
other remains.


Lyons found the skull, stuffed with old, yellowed newspapers that had
fallen into shreds making them unreadable. Lyons took the skull to Lt.
John
Steely, the county chief deputy coroner.


Steely recognized the skull as being that of a Native American, based on
the facial structure, and old because the skull was badly discolored and
the teeth had no fillings.


Steely sought a second opinion from anthropologist Sari Miller-Antonio
from
California State University, Stanislaus. She confirmed Wednesday that
the
skull was of a Native American male, and is old.


"The skull was clearly Native American based on the facial features and
the
teeth," Miller-Antonio said. "Native Americans ate food that was high in
grit and it wears away the teeth in a certain way."


She also said the skull was likely much older than 50 years.


Because the skull was found in the Stanislaus National Forest, Forest
Service archeologist Kathy Moskowitz will keep the skull until it can be
returned to the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk. Following federal protocol
based
on the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act, there is a
45-day notification and waiting period before the tribe can reclaim it.

_____________________________________________________________
SCNweb - The official web site of the Southern Cherokee Nation
http://www.southern-cherokee.com

_____________________________________________________________
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• [MIXED-BLOODS] Native American skull found of roadway near Pinecrest (CA) by Patricia Gunter <>