North Carolina General Statutes 70-33. Consultation with other individuals
(a) If the professional archaeologist determines that the human skeletal remains are other than Native American, the State Archaeologist shall publish notice that excavation of the remains has occurred, at least once per week for four successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the burials or skeletal remains were situated, in an effort to determine the identity or next of kin or both of the deceased.
(b) If the next of kin are located, within 90 days the State Archaeologist in consultation with the next of kin shall prepare a written agreement concerning the treatment and ultimate disposition of the skeletal remains. The written agreement shall include:
(1) Designation of a qualified skeletal analyst to work on the skeletal remains;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 70-33
- Professional archaeologist: means a person having (i) a postgraduate degree in archaeology, anthropology, history, or another related field with a specialization in archaeology, (ii) a minimum of one year's experience in conducting basic archaeological field research, including the excavation and removal of human skeletal remains, and (iii) designed and executed an archaeological study and presented the written results and interpretations of such study. See North Carolina General Statutes 70-28
- remains: means any part of the body of a deceased human being in any stage of decomposition. See North Carolina General Statutes 70-28
- Skeletal analyst: means any person having (i) 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, (ii) 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 (iii) designed and executed a skeletal analysis, and presented the written results and interpretations of such analysis. See North Carolina General Statutes 70-28
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- State Archaeologist: means the head of the Office of State Archaeology section of the Office of Archives and History, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. See North Carolina General Statutes 70-28
(2) The type of analysis and the specific period of time to be provided for analysis of the skeletal remains;
(3) The timetable for written progress reports and the final report concerning the skeletal analysis to be provided to the State Archaeologist and the next of kin by the skeletal analyst; and
(4) A plan for the ultimate disposition of the skeletal remains subsequent to the completion of adequate skeletal analysis.
If no agreement is reached, the remains shall be handled according to the wishes of the next of kin. (1981, c. 853, s. 2; 2007-484, s. 10(f).)