NOGALES, Ariz. — The remains of a person were found at the Kino Springs Golf course in Nogales and the person may have been there since between the 5th and 15th centuries A.D..
"I'd say we'd respond to about two or three of these inadvertent discovery calls a year," said Dr. James Watson, Associate Curator of Bioarchaeology at the University of Arizona.
Construction halted and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office was called in.
Deputies then called the medical examiner in Pima County.
"Does it look like a modern burial or something we might be interested in? Do we need to bring those remains to our office to examine them further," said Greg Hess, Chief Medical Examiner for Pima County.
It was soon discovered the remains would actually present a legal issue.
"Native American Grave Protection Repatriation Act," Watson said.
Because of the type of pottery discovered in the area in past excavations, Watson traced the remains to the Hohokam Native American Tribe.
"Ideally it would have been nice not to have them disturbed and we'd been contacted first, but in this case because there was confusion about whether it was a forensic case or an archaeological case things happened the way they did."
From a legal to an educational issue, Watson says the remains are ultimately an issue of respect.
They'll be passed along on to their descendants at the Tohono O'odham tribe.
Watson said construction crews at the golf course and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies will contact the museum directly if any more remains are discovered in the area.
