Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 16 - History, Humanities and Arts › Part 3 - Historic Preservation Division › Chapter 12 - Mississippi Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations › Rule 16-3-12.13.0 - Treatment of Human Remains

Current through June 25, 2024
It is the responsibility of the archaeologist to comply with
				  all state and federal legislation (e.g., Mississippi Antiquities Law, Native
				  American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) concerning archaeological
				  sites and the treatment of Native American human remains encountered during
				  archaeological investigations. Additionally, some agencies have internal
				  guidelines governing the treatment of human remains (e.g., USDA Forest
				  Service's Human Remains Policy), and these should also be consulted when
				  applicable. If human remains are discovered that are not Native American in
				  origin (meaning dating to historic times
and
not Native American),
				  then the principal investigator should immediately notify the county coroner,
				  sheriff, and/or board of supervisors to begin consultation. Should Native
				  American human remains be discovered, archaeological activities (e.g., shovel
				  testing, test excavations, mechanical stripping) and/or project-related
				  activities will cease in that area. The field archaeologist will contact the
				  governing/contracting agency for further instruction. In the absence of Federal
				  involvement, if Native American burials are encountered on state, county,
				  municipal or private land, the field archaeologist will contact MSSHPO and
				  apply for a burial excavation permit. Burial excavation permits may also be
				  applied for in anticipation of encountering burials. Work may continue in the
				  area once a burial excavation permit has been granted. Encountered aboriginal
				  human remains shall be recorded, handled, and protected according to the
				  stipulations stated in the permit.
Under the provisions of the State Antiquities Law (39-7-31),
				  the Board of Trustees of MDAH is given the responsibility of considering and
				  permitting, if deemed appropriate, the excavation of prehistoric or historic
				  Indian burials. Specifically, 39-7-31 states:
No person without a permit from the board and without
				  written permission of the landowner, shall intentionally injure, disfigure,
				  remove, excavate, damage, take, dig into, or destroy any prehistoric or
				  historic American Indian or aboriginal burial.
As stated in 39-7-3 (Declaration of Public Policy), it is
				  the policy of the State of Mississippi and in the interest of the State to
				  protect and preserve archaeological sites of every character. Burials in the
				  context of the Antiquities Law are archaeological sites. They are, however,
				  very special kinds of archaeological sites which are given additional legal
				  protection by other laws. For this reason, burials are the only type of site
				  for which MSSHPO has legal authority on private property, except for
				  "Mississippi Landmarks" for which this authority is voluntarily given by the
				  landowner.
In order to prevent confusion and to establish clear
				  directives, the following guidelines are instituted:
1. No permit will be issued unless the
				excavation is to be performed or supervised by an archaeologist meeting the
				aforementioned professional qualifications. It is recommended that a physical
				anthropologist be present during the excavation to ensure the recovery of a
				maximum amount of pertinent information.
2. A report, following the guidelines
				established in this document, detailing the findings of the excavation,
				including photographs and sketches, must be submitted to MSSHPO within one year
				of completion of the excavation.
3.
				If the burial(s) in question is reasonably expected to be of a known, existing
				tribe, the written comments of that tribe shall be sought and, if obtained,
				submitted in written form to MSSHPO when the application is made for a permit.
If the burial(s) is from a historic period occupation and is not
				Native American, the county coroner will take possession of the burial(s), not
				MSSHPO.
4. The
				remains are to be curated in a facility that meets or exceeds standards set
				forth in 36 CFR 79 or reburied after scientific analysis. The decision on
				whether to require reburial will be determined by MSSHPO after reviewing
				documentation submitted with the request for a burial excavation permit (see
				Step 3).
5.  Permits to excavate
				burials will not be issued in most circumstances unless there is a threat to
				the integrity of the burial(s) through vandalism, natural forces (e.g.,
				erosion, inundation), or development which is clearly in the public
				interest.
6. For purposes of these
				guidelines, a burial is understood to include the items that are interred with
				the body/human remains.
7. In the
				event of the unintended discovery of burials during the course of an
				excavation, the encountered remains are to be recorded in such a manner as to
				minimize the loss of scientific data. A burial excavation permit is to be
				sought, if the archaeologist wishes to continue with the burial
				excavation/removal.
8. MSSHPO may,
				as it finds advisable, call for a written proposal from the applicant on the
				procedure for burial removal and reserves the right to deny the participation
				of any archaeologist. Such written proposals should address the adequacy of
				crew size and experience, laboratory and temporary curation facilities, as well
				as arrangements for long-term curation or reburial of
				remains.