This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
At first, 13-year-old Alex Baker didn't think much of it when his shovel stuck a brittle, round object in the pit he was digging.
Alex tossed the object aside. Then he, his cousin Hayden Schofield and his friend Scott Paulsen examined the ball. Hayden saw what they believed was marrow spilling from it.
It was the first clue that the boys had discovered more than the hangout they were trying to construct. State archaeologist Kevin Jones says the three appear to have found the remains of an American Indian, possibly 1,000 years old.
Jones said the remains probably belong to a middle-aged male from the Fremont Indians - a group of inhabitants whose society peaked a millennia ago and began disappearing about 750 years ago.
Archaeology was not what Alex, Hayden and Scott had in mind when they began digging a hole behind Alex and Hayden's grandfather's house on Salt Lake City's Yale Avenue on the south slope of a creek that handles runoff from Red Butte Canyon. The Clayton Middle School students said Tuesday they wanted to build a fort. The plan was to dig a hole 6 feet deep, 10 feet long and 6 feet wide, equip it with couches, an audio system and a disco ball and cover the top with boards.
At about 6 p.m. Monday, the boys were 5 feet deep when Alex struck what they now think is a ball joint connecting to a hip. The boys continued digging and found a rib and some other bone fragments. Still, they thought they were excavating an animal.
Then the boys found another rounded object. Scott pulled it out of the dirt, rolled it over and saw the face of a skull.
"We just all backed up and were in shock," Hayden said.
The boys said they tried to follow the instruction they received in a U.S. history class discussing archaeology and what to do when you think you've found an artifact - leave it alone and tell authorities what you've found.
Alex was sent to the house to tell his grandfather, Bob Schofield, of the discovery. Schofield told Alex it must be an animal, but Alex was adamant it was something more.
Schofield went to the site and saw that the boys were correct. He brought the skull to the house to show authorities when they arrived.
Salt Lake City police and other agencies examined the remains and the site, and the state medical examiner took possession of the excavated bones - the skull, some vertebrae, and pieces of the humerus, femur and pelvis. The office later gave the bones to Jones.
Jones said the 1,000-year estimate is based on the shape of the skull and the wearing of the teeth. He had planned to examine the pit again Tuesday afternoon but rain prevented it.
Jones said his office is trying to determine who owns the land where the remains were found and, if the landowner consents, the excavated remains will be returned to the site.
"Since they're in no danger of being damaged by construction or anything like that, we would prefer to return them to their original resting place," Jones said.
The boys said their discovery will give them a new interest in archaeology.
"Maybe we'll say we're going to dig a fort, but we'll be looking for something," Alex said.
"We're going to dig for gold tomorrow," Scott replied.
"OK," Alex said.