New Hampshire Revised Statutes 227-C:8-a – Discovery of Remains and Notification of Authorities
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I. Any person knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that unmarked human burials or human remains are being disturbed, destroyed, defaced, mutilated, removed, or exposed shall immediately notify the medical examiner of the county in which the remains are encountered.
II. If the unmarked human burials or human remains are encountered as a result of construction or agricultural activities, disturbance of the remains shall cease immediately and shall not resume without authorization from either the county medical examiner or the state archaeologist, as provided in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-b, III or IV.
III. (a) If the unmarked human burials or human remains are encountered by a professional archaeologist, as a result of survey or test excavations, the remains may be excavated and other activities may resume after notification, by telephone or certified letter, is provided to the state archaeologist, and immediate notification is given to living descendants or specific groups known to have affinity with the remains. The treatment, analysis, and disposition of the remains shall be as provided in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-c and 8-g.
(b) If a professional archaeologist directing long-term systematic archaeological research, that is, research designed to continue for one or more field seasons of 4 or more weeks’ duration, sponsored by any accredited institution, accredited college or university with research interests in New Hampshire, as a part of his or her research, recovers Native American remains or remains from a suspected African American burial ground, he or she may be exempted from the provisions of N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-b through 8-f and 8-g, III so long as he or she:
(1) Notifies the state archaeologist within 5 working days of the initial discovery of either the Native American remains or the remains from a suspected African American burial ground;
(2) Reports to the state archaeologist, at agreed upon intervals, the status of the project;
(3) Curates the remains prior to ultimate disposition; and
(4) Conducts no destructive skeletal analysis without the express permission of the state archaeologist.
Upon completion of the project fieldwork, the professional archaeologist, in consultation with the skeletal analyst and the state archaeologist, shall determine the schedule for the completion of the skeletal analysis. In the event of a disagreement, the time for completion of the skeletal analysis shall not exceed 4 years. The director or their designee, after consultation with the state archaeologist, shall have authority concerning the ultimate disposition of the Native American remains after analysis is completed in accordance with N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-g, I and 8-h, II and III. The ultimate disposition of remains and other archaeological materials such as markers, gates, mortuary materials or other archaeological materials found in an African American burial ground shall be in consultation with the descendants or descendant community.
(c) The state archaeologist shall notify the county medical examiner of any reported human skeletal remains discovered by a professional archaeologist.
II. If the unmarked human burials or human remains are encountered as a result of construction or agricultural activities, disturbance of the remains shall cease immediately and shall not resume without authorization from either the county medical examiner or the state archaeologist, as provided in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-b, III or IV.
Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 227-C:8-a
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Human remains: or "remains" means any part of the body of deceased human being in any stage of decomposition, together with any artifacts or other materials known or reliably assumed to have been on or interred with the deceased human being. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 227-C:1
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies corporate and politic as well as to individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:9
- remains: means any part of the body of deceased human being in any stage of decomposition, together with any artifacts or other materials known or reliably assumed to have been on or interred with the deceased human being. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 227-C:1
- Skeletal analyst: means the member of the professional staff or another professional person designated by the director of the division of historical resources with the approval of the commissioner having:
(a) A postgraduate degree in a field involving the study of the human skeleton such as skeletal biology, forensic osteology, or other relevant aspects of physical anthropology or medicine;
(b) A minimum of one year's experience in conducting laboratory reconstruction and analysis of skeletal remains, including the differentiation of the physical characteristics denoting cultural or biological affinity; and
(c) Designed and executed a skeletal analysis, and presented the written results and interpretations of such analysis. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 227-C:1 - state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
III. (a) If the unmarked human burials or human remains are encountered by a professional archaeologist, as a result of survey or test excavations, the remains may be excavated and other activities may resume after notification, by telephone or certified letter, is provided to the state archaeologist, and immediate notification is given to living descendants or specific groups known to have affinity with the remains. The treatment, analysis, and disposition of the remains shall be as provided in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-c and 8-g.
(b) If a professional archaeologist directing long-term systematic archaeological research, that is, research designed to continue for one or more field seasons of 4 or more weeks’ duration, sponsored by any accredited institution, accredited college or university with research interests in New Hampshire, as a part of his or her research, recovers Native American remains or remains from a suspected African American burial ground, he or she may be exempted from the provisions of N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-b through 8-f and 8-g, III so long as he or she:
(1) Notifies the state archaeologist within 5 working days of the initial discovery of either the Native American remains or the remains from a suspected African American burial ground;
(2) Reports to the state archaeologist, at agreed upon intervals, the status of the project;
(3) Curates the remains prior to ultimate disposition; and
(4) Conducts no destructive skeletal analysis without the express permission of the state archaeologist.
Upon completion of the project fieldwork, the professional archaeologist, in consultation with the skeletal analyst and the state archaeologist, shall determine the schedule for the completion of the skeletal analysis. In the event of a disagreement, the time for completion of the skeletal analysis shall not exceed 4 years. The director or their designee, after consultation with the state archaeologist, shall have authority concerning the ultimate disposition of the Native American remains after analysis is completed in accordance with N.H. Rev. Stat. § 227-C:8-g, I and 8-h, II and III. The ultimate disposition of remains and other archaeological materials such as markers, gates, mortuary materials or other archaeological materials found in an African American burial ground shall be in consultation with the descendants or descendant community.
(c) The state archaeologist shall notify the county medical examiner of any reported human skeletal remains discovered by a professional archaeologist.