NAGPRA: Before and after
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990. NAGPRA is a Federal law that requires Federal agencies to provide opportunities for federally recognized tribes to obtain culturally affiliated human remains and artifacts. Most anthropologists are not opposed to repatriation of affiliated remains. For example, Rose and colleagues (1996) hypothesized that repatriation will eliminate gaps in knowledge of specific times and geographic areas, require osteological analyses to be more comprehensive, and increase use of new methodologies. Additionally, Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) published a standardization book to provide uniform procedures for examining skeletons. The current study examines articles from the primary physical anthropology journal before and after 1990 to ascertain whether NAGPRA has resulted in the above-mentioned predictions. Statistically significant (Student’s t-test, Ps < 0.05) results indicate that compared to pre-NAGPRA, osteological studies containing Native American remains have decreased, fewer sites are used, and fewer geographic locations are examined. Only one-third of osteological studies using Native American remains published after 1994 use Buikstra and Ubelaker’s standards. Both before and after NAGPRA was enacted, over 70 percent of osteological studies come from sites in nine states. Thus, none of these predictions occurred and changes in osteological research on Native American after the enactment of NAGPRA seem to indicate that NAGPRA impedes research.
Human skeletal remains: Preservation or reburial?
Recent years have witnessed a surge of scientific interest in the biocultural analysis of mortuary sites and human remains. Concurrently, members of the American Indian community and others have questioned the merit of scientific study and argued for reburial of Indian human remains and associated artifacts. Strong differences of opinion have led to varied responses among museums, professional organizations, federal and state organizations, and individuals. This article addresses the scientific, ethical, religious, political, and legal issues raised by this debate.
Computer simulations and theory of oceanographic fluorescence lidar signals: effect of sea surface structure.
A 3-D computer simulation model has been developed using geometrical optics suitable for analyzing the effect of sea surface structure on oceanographic fluorescence lidar signals. Depth-resolved and depth-integrated signals reveal a considerable dependence on the surface structure. The results obtained by simulation are confirmed by a theoretical approach based on the transformation of solid angles by curved boundaries. Using statistical assumptions about the distribution of curvatures of the ocean surface, a general expression for this influence is found.