Human bones found on hill are old – but how old?

Human remains found on a hillside in north Spokane – in an area less than a quarter-mile from an early Native American gathering spot – are believed to be old, though no one knows yet just how old.

A jawbone was discovered about two weeks ago by kids sledding on a hillside off Courtland Avenue between north Maple and Monroe streets, Spokane police Sgt. Joe Peterson said Thursday. More recently, a portion of a skull was found in the same area, Peterson said.

Police detectives weren’t sure if the bones were from a recent crime or from years ago, so they took them to the medical examiner’s office for examination by Sarah Keller, an Eastern Washington University professor of anthropology. She determined they were old, Peterson said.

Keller wasn’t willing Thursday to discuss the bones, saying she hadn’t yet written her report for the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Stan Gough, director of EWU’s archaeological and historical services, said in cases like these, human bones typically are not carbon-dated to determine an age because it’s both destructive to the bones and expensive.

If bones are determined to be Native American, they are returned to the appropriate tribe, he said. But ethnicity is often hard to assess.

Bones turn up in the city about once a year, Peterson said.

The last discovery happened along Hangman Creek, where city workers were digging to install overflow tanks for combined sewer and storm water lines.

After those bones – later determined to be from animals – were found, an archaeological dig was performed at the site. Scientists found artifacts dating back 8,000 years.

The recently discovered bones were near Drumheller Springs Historic Park.