Discovery of Native American remains increase in Nantucket

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) - The discovery of Native American remains has been increasing in one town on Cape Cod.

A flux of development means many previously undisturbed parts of Nantucket are being dug up, revealing hints of the town’s first inhabitants.

The most recent occurred this spring, reports the Cape Cod Times, when a contractor uncovered a skull while digging a hole for a new foundation. The skull was determined to be one of the island’s Native occupiers. An exact number of town discoveries and locations have not been made available by the state.

Nantucket police say that in recent years, they’ve gotten calls up to six times a year about remains. Purposely disturbing a Native burial site, or failing to report one found is a violation of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990.

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Information from: Cape Cod (Mass.) Times, http://www.capecodtimes.com