Human Skull Found In Sand Pit

[Seldom]

Human skull found in sand pit

By John Lowman

The Facts

Published August 11, 2009

OYSTER CREEK — A skull found in an Oyster Creek sand pit most likely is that of a prehistoric person, but carbon dating would be required to make an accurate determination of age.

Crews with Mike Sorrell Trucking Inc. of Freeport noticed the skull while working on the Oyster Creek land, Brazoria County Sheriff’s Capt. Chris Kincheloe said. The pit is about 40 feet deep and about 150 feet wide, sheriff’s Identification Officer Mike Thomas said.

The skull was 60 to 80 feet from the walls of the pit, from which sand is taken and transported to other areas.

“One of his workers saw a ball in the pit,” Kincheloe said. “When they walked out, it wasn’t a ball but a skull. It’s in absolutely amazing condition.”

The skull, minus the jaw, is reddish in color and has several teeth still intact, Thomas said. The color probably comes from the dirt in which the bone was buried, he said.

“It still had red sand and dirt caked into it, and we weren’t going to try to clean it until we had the appropriate people examine it,” Thomas said.

Police placed the skull into a paper bag and took it back to the sheriff’s office, where it was sealed in a plastic bag. Since it has no bearing on any investigation, it was released back to Mike Sorrell, who did not return phone calls Monday.

The skull was viewed by members of the Brazosport Archeological Society.

Society member Johnny Pollan hasn’t examined the skull but has seen photographs. He said confidently it’s not from the modern day. The way the teeth are worn is a telltale sign since prehistoric people often used their teeth as tools, Pollan said.

“It is an adult,” he said. “The wear on the teeth is fairly indicative of prehistoric people. They tended to use their teeth for various things, and they ate out of pottery vessels, and the sand and grit wore their teeth down. Plus, it had no fillings.”

Carbon 14 analysis can determine the skull’s approximate age, he said.

“Carbon 14” dating is, “a method to determine the age of organic geologic and archaeological specimens, aged approximately 3,000 to 50,000 years, by determining the decay of the radioactive isotope carbon-14,” according to information from the United States Geological Survey.

Unless someone knew for sure the depth at which the skull was buried, and found other items beside it, a time period cannot be established without carbon dating, Pollan said.

“Right now it’s just a skull found in a sandpit,” he said. “If we found the gravesite, the orientation of burial, position of burial, grave goods, projectile points, ceramics … something that could indicate time period, that would be important. But a skull … it’s just another skull.”

Still, this skull is “outside the norm” because it’s in “pristine condition” for a skull its age, Kincheloe said. Since it was on private property, it doesn’t fall under any state or federal laws, Pollan said, with Thomas agreeing.

“It’s up to the landowner to determine what to do with it,” Pollan said.

If the skull has historical significance, it should be studied and treated as such, he said. If not, the bone should be given a proper burial away from excavation, he said.

“This is a human being, therefore should be treated with as much respect as you would your grandmother,” Sorrell said. “Unless there’s some scientific data that can gleaned from it, I would re-bury it. Maybe with a small ceremony, in an area that would not be disturbed in the future.”

John Lowman covers Brazoria County for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.

[Auspex]

Mighty cool!

I hope we get to hear the outcome.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I wish the dang medical examiner would have returned the one I found to me. I even had one of my buddies in law enforcement contact them to no avail. I'll just have to find another one!

[Fossilcollector]

I wish the dang medical examiner would have returned the one I found to me. I even had one of my buddies in law enforcement contact them to no avail. I'll just have to find another one!

Hmm, what's the story behind the skull you found Dan???

-YvW

[Traviscounty]

I wish the dang medical examiner would have returned the one I found to me. I even had one of my buddies in law enforcement contact them to no avail. I'll just have to find another one!

You live in Texas. You'll find another one.

[Crinoid Queen]

This story reinforces my paranoia from watching to much cold case files. I have always imagined findin g a dead body in one of the creeks i go into. i hope it turnes out to be prehistoric not new!

[tracer]

hmm, i've always imagined me being found in one of the creeks i go to. seems a lot scarier that way. tj and i recently were getting ready to land on a gravel bar and about 8 or 9 armed individuals wandered out onto the bar from somewhere. we kinda just waved and floated right on by. don't pay to get too cocky out in the field. there's always somebody around that's crazy enough to do in real life what others figure will never happen because they've never see it before.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I posted my story here a couple years ago. Just another wonderful day in the Bayou of Beheadedness!

[Guest solius symbiosus]

^^ I did a search for it, but I think that it was in a thread started by someone else; I only searched for threads by you. I remember it, and it was probable in the spring of '08. Do you remember the thread?

[JohnJ]

SKULL STORY