The Durango Police Department and archaeologists from Fort Lewis College responded Tuesday to unearth what appear to be very old human remains found on a hillside off La Posta Road (County Road 213).
Given the apparent age of the remains found, Durango Police Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop said the remains – which are composed only of bones and bone fragments – are being exhumed by archaeologists in coordination with both the La Plata County Coroner and the state archaeologist’s office.
“It's going to be between Jann Smith at the coroner's office and the state archaeologist to kind of determine what the situation is,” Dunlop said.
The remains do include a partial human skull, Smith said. Detectives on scene were sifting through dirt to separate bone fragments.
Per state law, the coroner is responsible for determining whether remains found in unmarked graves are of forensic value.
If Smith determines that the remains are not of forensic value – as clues seem to indicate – then the state archaeologist will examine the remains to determine if they are over 100 years old and if they are Native American. If they are Native American, the state archaeologist will notify the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, which in turn notifies interested tribes in the region.
No one is yet speculating exactly who the remains could belong to. The land around Durango has been previously occupied by tribes of Indigenous people spanning back centuries. A trove of archaeological artifacts found on the Florida Mesa in 2019 were likely from the Pueblo I period from about 750 to 900, while rock shelters found in Falls Creek were dated to somewhere between 300 B.C. and A.D. 400.
Dunlop said someone first reported finding human remains Monday afternoon. The reporting party had come across the bones while foraging on the hillside.
“The teeth are worn down consistent with somebody who hasn't ever had any kind of modern procedures done,” he said. ”… It's pretty obvious, again, that it's been there for an extended period of time.”
rschafir@durangoherald.com
