By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Human remains found near River and Craycroft last week have been identified as prehistoric.
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On May 7, the Tucson Police Department confirmed a bone was found and said it is not part of a criminal investigation, but rather a prehistoric anthropological one.
Ancient discovery in Catalina Foothills
Shortly after the discovery of human remains in the Catalina Foothills, investigators determined there wasn’t cause for alarm but still a unique discovery.
“The bone that was exposed had been weathered, and sun-bleached, and it was very clearly ancient,” said James Watson, Curator of Bioarcheology at the Arizona State Museum.
According to Watson, the bone was prehistoric and likely more than 50 years old. Once that determination was made, Watson said he went in to assess the area and contact any potential tribes who may want to claim the remains.
“I went through the process of documenting what I saw, the location, and made the recovery, which included sort of digging through the riverbank to make sure that I was able to recover all of the individual and any potential objects that were associated with them,” Watson said.
Tribal notification process
Watson said many of the archeological remains found in the area are claimed by Native American tribal communities. He said their role involves making those connections and ensuring the tribes are notified when bones are discovered.
“Each tribe has laid out their specific areas that they want to be contacted in if human remains are found that are likely Native American. And so, if they are Native American, we look at those maps and contact those tribes and say, would you like to claim affiliation and then what would you like us to do in this capacity?” Watson said.
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Those maps allow Watson’s team to easily identify known archeological sites and claimed areas, even if they’ve been disturbed.
Watson said things like construction and roadwork are the most common reasons human remains will surface, but that natural events like monsoons can bring them up too. In this case, he said remains were found near the site just three years earlier, and it’s likely there might be additional discoveries there in the future.
Watson said their job is to get the investigation done as soon as possible and return any remains to their rightful home.
“Working through the reporting process, those remains, that individual, gets to its home with a descendant community and we’re here to facilitate that,” Watson said.
If you happen to come into contact with human remains, Watson said the first thing to do is contact law enforcement. If the remains are archeological, he said investigators will call his team in shortly afterward.
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