Section 227-C:8-a - Discovery of Remains and Notification of AuthoritiesI. Any person knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that unmarked human burials or human remains are being disturbed, destroyed, defaced, mutilated, removed, or exposed shall immediately notify the medical examiner of the county in which the remains are encountered.II. If the unmarked human burials or human remains are encountered as a result of construction or agricultural activities, disturbance of the remains shall cease immediately and shall not resume without authorization from either the county medical examiner or the state archaeologist, as provided in RSA 227-C:8-b, III or IV.III.(a) If the unmarked human burials or human remains are encountered by a professional archaeologist, as a result of survey or test excavations, the remains may be excavated and other activities may resume after notification, by telephone or certified letter, is provided to the state archaeologist, and immediate notification is given to living descendants or specific groups known to have affinity with the remains. The treatment, analysis, and disposition of the remains shall be as provided in RSA 227-C:8-c and 8-g.(b) If a professional archaeologist directing long-term systematic archaeological research, that is, research designed to continue for one or more field seasons of 4 or more weeks' duration, sponsored by any accredited institution, accredited college or university with research interests in New Hampshire, as a part of his or her research, recovers Native American remains or remains from a suspected African American burial ground, he or she may be exempted from the provisions of RSA 227-C:8-b through 8-f and 8-g, III so long as he or she: (1) Notifies the state archaeologist within 5 working days of the initial discovery of either the Native American remains or the remains from a suspected African American burial ground;(2) Reports to the state archaeologist, at agreed upon intervals, the status of the project;(3) Curates the remains prior to ultimate disposition; and(4) Conducts no destructive skeletal analysis without the express permission of the state archaeologist. Upon completion of the project fieldwork, the professional archaeologist, in consultation with the skeletal analyst and the state archaeologist, shall determine the schedule for the completion of the skeletal analysis. In the event of a disagreement, the time for completion of the skeletal analysis shall not exceed 4 years. The director or their designee, after consultation with the state archaeologist, shall have authority concerning the ultimate disposition of the Native American remains after analysis is completed in accordance with RSA 227-C:8-g, I and 8-h, II and III. The ultimate disposition of remains and other archaeological materials such as markers, gates, mortuary materials or other archaeological materials found in an African American burial ground shall be in consultation with the descendants or descendant community.
(c) The state archaeologist shall notify the county medical examiner of any reported human skeletal remains discovered by a professional archaeologist.Amended by 2023, 200:1, eff. 10/3/2023.1986, 80:10, eff. Jan. 1, 1987.