Posted on 12/18/2004 7:34:16 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Muleteam1
I know that forensic anthropologists are able to discern certain racial characteristics through examination of human remains, but how in the world could they know that these were of Norwegian descent?
Isn't it interesting that we cannot disturb the habitat of a crosseyed bat due to environmental concerns but there is no problem with disenterring the dead "pioneers". They knew there was a cemetery there. How did they get permission to violate it? More proof that human life is loosing its value in this country.
The jar of Lutefish buried with them was the dead giveaway.
No way something as precious as lutefisk would have been buried, not even with a monarch! Must've been pickled herring...(8^D)
You may be right, but then it would be ridiculously disingenuous to advertise that they knew there had been a graveyard there. Of course, I'm not going to give them credit for that level of reasoning. Had thie deceased been anyone but 'white' people, you can bet there would have been Hell to pay.
That's what I was thinking. Look at the flap over the Kennewick Man in Washington State.
What also bugs me is the hand-wringing and wailing every time an Indian site is discovered and "desecrated" when the archaelogists try to find out what went on. I visited Ft. McDowell on the Indian reservation north of Phoenix. In the 60s there were still a few buildings from the 1890s still standing. Due to "benign neglect" [ahem] there is nothing left but a crumbling adobe wall in one area and the walls of two gutted buildings covered with graffitti in another. NOT ONE indication/sign/monument that this historic old fort ever existed. The natives there are too busy hustling the tourists at their casino to take care of any white man's artifacts.
HOUSTON, TX - Without a doubt the most important investment a family will make is the purchase of a home. If you choose to buy an older home there are problems you might expect to face: plumbing disasters, an aging water heater, and electrical malfunctions to name a few. You might if you believe in such things even expect some evidence of former occupants, perhaps even a ghost. If however you save and work toward your dream of owning a new home, moving day would mean a fresh start. No one has walked a trail across the carpet, or put dents in the dishwasher. The home you have purchased is uniquely your own.
In 1980 Ben and Jean Williams brought a new home in Newport a subdivision just outside Houston, Texas. They moved in with their young granddaughter expecting to have all the satisfaction of living in a house that was built to their specifications. The neighborhood was beautifully designed and the house roomy and comfortable with the entire modern convinces they could want. But almost from the first day they began to have experiences that one would expect more in a drafty castle than in a brand new suburban house in southeast Texas.
At first it was just a feeling. The prickle at the back of the neck you have when being watched. An atmosphere became prevalent, a general gloomy darkness was experienced in some parts of the home and cold spots were noticed. As if something was trying to get their attention toilets began to flush by themselves and electrical problems that could not be explained occurred again and again.
The family began to have other more serious problems. Poisonous snakes began to find their way onto the property and into the couple’s home. Their daughter became seriously ill. Their neighbors reported similar incidents and problems with their own homes, but none of them could offer any explanation.
The frustration was exacerbated by a nagging doubt they could not put their finger on. When they moved in they had noticed that a tree in the back yard had strange markings carved into it. The terrain in the subdivision seemed oddly dotted with what looked like sinkholes. They could not shake the feeling that some clue or history of the area was being withheld from them. Unintentionally a neighbor discovered the horrible truth. Workers digging a swimming pool in the back yard unearthed the remains of two people.
Facts began to slowly emerge. They were able to locate an elderly man named Jasper Norton who as a youth had worked as a gravedigger. Not only could he help identify whom the graves belonged to, but he also told them how they came to be there. The subdivision was built over the graves of an abandoned cemetery that had been called "Black Hope." Buried in pauper and often unmarked graves were the remains of at least 60 people most of whom had been former slaves.
Horrified by the incidents that now seemed to be intensifying, and disgusted at the thought of having even unwittingly desecrated a graveyard many of the residents left the area, some taking a huge financial loss and simply abandoning their homes. Jean Williams was convinced that the carved markings on the tree in her back yard were in actuality a makeshift grave marker. As the Developer continued to dispute that the area had been a cemetery, Jean attempted to prove her case by digging around the strangely marked tree. Her daughter Tina, age 30, tried to help but collapsed and died of a massive heart attack. Jean and Ben devastated by their loss, and convinced the property was at least partially to blame also fled the subdivision.
The William's neighbors sued the Developer and were awarded a large cash settlement by a jury, but the judge in the case set aside this decision and none of the residents of the Newport subdivision received any money in compensation for their losses.
Many of the former residents now have rebuilt their lives, and are no longer plagued with the problems they experienced while living unintentionally over the graves of the Black Hope Cemetery.
heh, exactly, or more importantly, imagine if a spotted owl nest was found in the area.....
They can move the blessed remains of pioneers, but they won't consider moving a hole dug by some obscure endangered beetle or whatnot......
Many years ago in Dallas while building an on ramp, an old cemetery was discovered. What they thought were nine graves went up to five hundered. Talk about delays! Three years later, work on the project was resumed.
ping?
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
They may not have wanted to do some checking because that might have meant bringing in the archaeologists earlier. Though if federal money is used anywhere in this project, I would've thought that the archaeological survey was required.
I was going to suggest the presence of undigested lutefisk which was perfectly preserved. ;-D
Is this the Coalville Elementary school discovery? I read something about it last night.
That's a lesson plan the kids will remember for a long time.
Put the coffins in the lobby with a sign that reads, "This is what happens to little boys and girls who don't pay attention in class".
it's only caucasian bones - no need for respect. Imagine this same scene with American Indian bones or an old black slave cemetary??!!
You got that right.....
I'm not sure, this is the first I've heard of it. The story didn't really say where this was, but they did mention the bodies would be buried in Coalville Cemetery, so it probably is the story you're thinking of.
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