Nearly 8,000-year-old skull found in Minnesota River

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A partial skull from nearly 8,000 years ago that was found by two kayakers in a river last summer will be returned to Native American officials in Minnesota.

Renville County Sheriff Scott Hable said the bone was found after a drought lowered the Minnesota River near the city of Sacred Heart, about 110 miles west of Minneapolis.

Thinking it might be related to a missing person case or murder, Hable turned the skull over to a medical examiner and eventually to the FBI, where a forensic anthropologist used carbon dating to determine it was likely the skull of a young man who lived between 5500 and 6000 B.C., Hable said.

Hable posted about the discovery on the department’s Facebook page on Wednesday, but removed the post after Native American officials said publishing photos of the skull was offensive to their culture.

Hable said the remains will be turned over to Upper Sioux Community tribal officials.