Rule poses threat to museum bones

Deep in the bowels of dozens of US museums lie caches of unidentified ancient human bones that hold vital clues to the history of the continent's earliest inhabitants. But many Native Americans believe that the remains should to be returned to them, often for reburial or destruction.

A federal rule unveiled on 15 March could give Native Americans a way to claim these bones — and some researchers fear that this could empty museum collections.

The final rule, due to take effect on 14 May, amends the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which set out steps to correct a history of insensitive handling of bones and funerary objects. The law was a compromise, balancing native rights and those of all Americans who might benefit from scientific study of the remains.