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ESCALANTE, Utah (AP) -- The FBI's investigation of a skeleton found in a desert outside Escalante is frustrating some archeologists who worry that important cultural context might be lost in the process.
The skeleton, dubbed "Escalante Man" in Bureau of Land Management documents, was found last winter off Highway 12 near Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The bones were likely from an American Indian man in his 50s or 60s. The bones were found with a musket, ammunition and a bucket.
Researchers said evidence indicates the man died during the mid- to late-19th century.
The FBI, in its investigation, excluded archaeologists during an excavation April 16.
"It seems the FBI is running roughshod over the BLM, scientific procedures and legal requirements in their unexplained zeal to excavate an historic site," Matt Zweifel, the BLM's excluded Kanab-based archaeologist, wrote in a four-page memo documenting concerns two days before the agents went to the site with shovels and screens.
"I don't doubt that the FBI forensics personnel are the best in their field, but they are not trained archaeologists," he wrote.
The secrecy has also frustrated state archaeologist Kevin Jones and Forrest Cuch, Utah's director of Indian affairs.
"We try to work with law enforcement. If there is a possibility that there is a crime involved, we would want the police there, and vice versa if it's an historic site. Neither of us benefit working in isolation," Jones said. "It's regrettable that a professional archaeologist wasn't there."
FBI spokesman Juan Becerra said he couldn't comment on the case because it's part of an ongoing investigation.
BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall said the investigation has been "a marriage of law enforcement and science."
"We were able to accomplish disparate goals," she said. "This is a situation that should be held up as a positive example. It's frustrating that it's being spun in a negative light."
The BLM's Jeanette Matovich, who is trained in bioanthropology, participated in the dig.
"The skeleton was completely collapsed in on itself, with the feet tucked under the pelvis, indicating the individual was sitting in an upright squatting or kneeling position at the time of death," Matovich wrote in a report.
No traumatic injuries were noted. The report did not include a cause of death.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
