The University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist is tasked with uncovering Iowa’s Indigenous past; however, the most rewarding part for these archaeologists isn’t finding hundreds of artifacts in the ground each year, but making connections with local Native American tribes.
The Marshall County Sheriff's Office announced their investigation of some human remains that were found in the Iowa River, which they believe may actually be prehistoric in nature.
Marshall County, IA- The state archeologist has determined a jawbone found in a remote area of the Iowa River likely belonged to a prehistoric man. Radio Iowa reports that someone on the Marshall County Conservation Staff discovered the bone in early August while conducting a wildlife survey. The jawbone, which is the strongest bone on the human face, was sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office. It was confirmed to be human, but with no modern significance. The bone was transferred to the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa. According to a news release from the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, experts have determined the bone likely belonged to a prehistoric Native American adult male. The Iowa Archeology director says testing will be done to try to trace the bone to one of 26 tribes that lived in Iowa before Europeans settled in the area. If an ancestry link is found to a tribe, the bone will be returned over for burial.