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A Non-Destructive Method for Dating Human Remains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Warren K. Lail ,
David Sammeth ,
Shannon Mahan  and
Jason Nevins
Warren K. Lail
Affiliation:
New Mexico Highlands University
David Sammeth
Affiliation:
New Mexico Highlands University
Shannon Mahan
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey
Jason Nevins
Affiliation:
New Mexico Highlands University
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Abstract

The skeletal remains of several Native Americans were recovered in an eroded state from a creek bank in northeastern New Mexico. Subsequently stored in a nearby museum, the remains became lost for almost 36 years. In a recent effort to repatriate the remains, it was necessary to fit them into a cultural chronology in order to determine the appropriate tribe(s) for consultation pursuant to the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Because the remains were found in an eroded context with no artifacts or funerary objects, their age was unknown. Having been asked to avoid destructive dating methods such as radiocarbon dating, the authors used Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to date the sediments embedded in the cranium. The OSL analyses yielded reliable dates between A.D. 1415 and A.D. 1495. Accordingly, we conclude that the remains were interred somewhat earlier than A.D. 1415, but no later than A.D. 1495. We believe the remains are from individuals ancestral to the Ute Mouache Band, which is now being contacted for repatriation efforts. Not only do our methods contribute to the immediate repatriation efforts, they provide archaeologists with a versatile, non-destructive, numerical dating method that can be used in many burial contexts.

Los restos óseos de varios nativos americanos fueron recuperados al encontrarles en estado de erosión a la orilla de un arroyo en el noreste de Nuevo México. Al ser subsecuentemente almacenados en un museo cercano, los restos se perdieron entre las colecciones por casi 36 años. Recientemente, ante la necesidad de repatriarlos a la tribu de nativos americanos correspondiente, ha sido necesario ubicarles en una cronología cultural, de conformidad con el Acta de Protección y Repatriación de Tumbas de los Nativos Norteamericanos (NAGPRA), para consultar con la tribu o tribus apropiadas. Dado que los restos fueron encontrados en un contexto erosionado, sin artefactos u objetos funerarios, se desconoce su antigüedad. Al haberse pedido que no se utilizaran métodos de datación destructivos, como radiocarbono, los autores utilizaron luminiscencia ópticamente estimulada (OSL) para fechar los sedimentos que se encontraban al interior del cráneo. Los análisis de OSL proveyeron fechas confiables entre 1415 y 1495 d.C. Consecuentemente, concluimos que los restos fueron enterrados poco antes de 1415 d.C., mas no después de 1495 d.C. Nosotros creemos que los restos son ancestros de los miembros de la banda Mouache Ute, a quienes se les ha contactado como parte de las acciones de repatriación. No solo nuestros métodos contribuyen a estos esfuerzos inmediatos de repatriación, éstos proveen a los arqueólogos con un método de datación versátil y no destructivo que puede utilizarse en distintos contextos mortuorios.

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , November 2013 , pp. 91 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2013

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