2,000-year-old remains uncovered in Nebraska

[Blackbear]

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FROM: INDIANZ.COM WEBSITE

_http://64.62.196.98/News/2005/010224.asp_
(http://64.62.196.98/News/2005/010224.asp)

2,000-year-old remains uncovered in Nebraska

Friday, September 9, 2005

Remains uncovered in northeast Nebraska are 2,000 years old, the Nebraska
Historical Society said.
The body of a man was found on the Turkey Creek Ranch near the Missouri
River. He was found with two arrowheads.
The Nebraska Indian Affairs Commission will now decide what to do with the
remains. If he is found to be affiliated with any tribe, he will be
repatriated. If he is not found to be affiliated, the commission will decide where to
rebury him.
Get the Story:
_Skeleton found to be Native American from 2,000 years ago _
(http://64.62.196.98/my.asp?url=http:.../09/news/nebra
ska/6df0bd5a6b79897c86257077000c4665.txt) (The Sioux City Journal 9/9)
Relevant Links:
Nebraska Indian Affairs Commission - _http://www.indianaffairs.state.ne.us_
(http://64.62.196.98/my.asp?url=http:...s.state.ne.us/)

Copyright © 2000-2005 Indianz.Com

[Blackbear]

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FROM: THE SIOUX CITY JOURNAL NEWSPAPER

_http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2005/09/09/news/nebraska/6df0bd5a6b7
9897c86257077000c4665.txt_
(http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/arti...77000c4665.txt)


Skeleton found to be Native American from 2,000 years ago

By _Bret Hayworth_ (mailto:[email protected]) Journal staff
writer

Analysis of a rare find in northeast Nebraska has shown the guesses of four
months ago were on the mark -- the human skeleton unearthed in rural
Newcastle was that of a Native American who died about 2,000 years ago.

In late April Sioux Cityans Klay Evers and Rob Dermit unearthed a partially
exposed skull while hunting in the hills just south of the Missouri River.
The find came on the Turkey Creek Ranch owned by John Wortman, roughly five and
one-half miles from Newcastle and a mile south of the river.

On May 10, Nebraska Historical Society associate director Rob Bozell led a
team of six society workers who unearthed more of the ridge site where the
body was found. On that day, Bozell figured the skeleton belonged to a male who
lived in either the Archaic or Woodland Indian era.
Analysis of the skull, about two-thirds of the skeleton and two arrowheads
found at the site, Bozell told the Journal Thursday, showed the body was
probably a young to middle-aged male, most likely tribally unaffiliated. Local expe
rt Annie Lamprecht, who owns the nearby 240-acre Indian Hills Archeological
Zone, said the man would not have belonged to either the Winnebago or Omaha
tribes.

The two arrowheads found were typical of that of the period from 1,500 to
2,000 years ago. The cause of death couldn't be determined, Bozell said, but
the skeleton did have anomalies that told something of the man's life. A hole
in a hip bone, he said, was likely from a wound that had healed, and there
were traumatic injuries to the spine.

"This person had a pretty tough life," Bozell said. A gritty diet typical of
the time, he added, resulted in teeth worn down much more than would be
found today.

The skeletal remains of the man will soon be passed onto the Nebraska Indian
Commission in Lincoln. Under Nebraska law, if tribe affiliation can be
pinpointed, the remains go to that tribe. Since that isn't the case, the
commission makes the decision to rebury the skeletal remains and arrowheads at a site
of its choice, likely in the near future, Bozell said.

"It is not unique, in terms of human remains found in northeast Nebraska,"
Bozell said, but the skeleton was instructive as one of the first Native
Americans found in many years.

Told of Bozell's findings, Wortman said it confirmed tales about the land he
bought in 2004. A former owner told of finding tomahawks and pieces of
pottery on what is believed to be a former Native American campsite.

News of the find didn't create a deluge of seekers to his land, Wortman
said, which pleased him, it "just gave them a little coffee talk" in the area, he
figured. Watching the historical society workers do their thing, Wortman
said, was fascinating and proved "you never know what you might find. It is kind
of a rare find, that is what is nice about it."

While his brush with history is now over, Wortman said the find will make
him scan the property a little more stringently.

"I'll scout around, as I fix fence or whatever, keep an eye out," he said.
"I guess I'll be a little more aware of things that are on the ground."

_Bret Hayworth_ (mailto:[email protected]) may be reached
at (712) 293.4203 or [email protected]_
(mailto:[email protected])