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Human skull found in possible Indian burial site near Oakland estuary

Construction crews working on a sidewalk on Dennison Street near the Oakland estuary Friday morning unearthed what is believed to be a human skull, possibly a remnant from an American Indian burial site, Oakland police said.

The skull was found about 10:15 a.m. about 3 feet below ground when the construction crew started digging to remove two sections of sidewalk on a contract job for AT&T to replace an underground cable, police said.

The construction site is adjacent to the Hide-A-Way Cafe on the 1900 block of Dennison, near the Embarcadero, and local historians say that area was indeed the site of numerous American Indian burial grounds, also known as shellmounds.

A similar case occurred in January, when human remains — which were later determined to be those of an American Indian child of about four years of age — were found underneath an Alameda street when public works crews dug up a section of the 3000 block of Washington Street.

Read entire article at Oakland Tribune