My knowledge of this is based on California and Federal law dictating
archaeological finds, so it may not be exactly on target for where this
woman lives. I would advise her to call the State Historic Preservation
Office (SHPO). They should be able to give her (correct) direction on what
should be done with both the bowl and the remains. Because she is not
positive that the remains were found with the bowl, the county coronor may
need to be brought in to make a determination as to their age. If they are
prehistoric, the SHPO should be able to find the most likely descendant (or
tribe) for repatriation.
Kim Popetz
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Kimberly Kenney, Curator [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 07:25:30 -0700
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Native American bowl and bones
Hello,
I just had a woman call me who has in her possession a
Native American bowl that appears to have an infant's
skeleton in a baggie inside it. Her mother excavated
it herself in the late 1940s or early 1950s. She
believes the two were together at the time her mother
found it.
The mother has since died, and the caller wanted some
advice on what to do with the bowl and bones.
She described it to me as an oval shaped, plain brown
clay bowl, which is broken. She believes her mother
found it in either southern Ohio or Georgia.
I asked if she was certain that it was a Native
American piece -- she said her mother was an active
collector and knew a great deal about the subject.
However, she did not leave any information about the
bowl.
The caller said she believed her mother had taken it
to a Native American museum in Macon, GA for
evaluation, but she did not donate it. Her brother
(the caller's uncle) was also a Native American
collector and started his own museum in Michigan.
The caller doesn't want the bowl and bones, but she
didn't want to just throw them away, which is why she
called us. Since our mission is to collect artifacts
from Stark County, Ohio and President McKinley, it
certainly doesn't fit into our Mission. I am also
unfamiliar with laws and regulations about the
posession of remains, since it has never been an issue
at our museum.
So I told her I would post to all of you, and get her
some information about who she can contact regarding
the bowl and bones.
Thank you!
Kim Kenney
Kimberly A. Kenney, Curator
Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
800 McKinley Monument Dr. NW
Canton OH 44708 * 330-455-7043
Visit the Ohio Memory Project at http://www.ohiomemory.org
* NEW EXHIBIT: "Made in Canton" will be on view through July 24, 2005
* CONFERENCE: Help us "Celebrate Canton!" at our special conference April
29-30
See our website for more details: http://www.mckinleymuseum.org
"Let us ever remember that our interests are in concord, not conflict; and
that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war."
-- 25th United States President William McKinley
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