Almost 8,000-year-old skull found in Minnesota River

A partial cranium from nearly 8,000 years ago that was discovered by two kayakers in a river final summer will probably be returned to Native American officials in Minnesota

ByThe Associated Press

21 Might 2022, 19:10

• 3 min read

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. -- A partial cranium that was discovered final summer by two kayakers in Minnesota can be returned to Native American officers after investigations decided it was about 8,000 years outdated.

The kayakers found the cranium within the drought-depleted Minnesota River about 110 miles (180 kilometers) west of Minneapolis, Renville County Sheriff Scott Hable said.

Thinking it could be related to a lacking person case or homicide, Hable turned the skull over to a medical expert and finally to the FBI, where a forensic anthropologist used carbon dating to find out it was likely the skull of a young man who lived between 5500 and 6000 B.C., Hable mentioned.

"It was an entire shock to us that that bone was that previous,” Hable told Minnesota Public Radio.

The anthropologist decided the man had a despair in his skull that was “maybe suggestive of the reason for loss of life.”

After the sheriff posted in regards to the discovery on Wednesday, his workplace was criticized by several Native Americans, who mentioned publishing photos of ancestral stays was offensive to their tradition.

Hable said his workplace eliminated the submit.

"We didn’t mean for it to be offensive in any way,” Hable stated.

Hable mentioned the stays will be turned over to Upper Sioux Neighborhood tribal officers.

Minnesota Indian Affairs Council Cultural Sources Specialist Dylan Goetsch said in an announcement that neither the council nor the state archaeologist have been notified about the discovery, which is required by state laws that govern the care and repatriation of Native American remains.

Goetsch said the Fb post “showed an entire lack of cultural sensitivity” by failing to name the individual a Native American and referring to the remains as “a bit of piece of history.”

Kathleen Blue, a professor of anthropology at Minnesota State College, said Wednesday that the skull was undoubtedly from an ancestor of one of the tribes still dwelling within the area, The New York Times reported.

She stated the young man would have possible eaten a diet of vegetation, deer, fish, turtles and freshwater mussels in a small area, somewhat than following mammals and bison on their migrations.

“There’s most likely not that many people at the moment wandering around Minnesota 8,000 years ago, as a result of, like I stated, the glaciers have only retreated a couple of thousands years before that,” Blue said. “That interval, we don’t know a lot about it.”