By Eliza Ridgeway

The construction crew of a homeowner doing landscaping on Normandy Lane in Los Altos Hills unearthed human bones last week, identified by the county coroner as Native American and between 500 and 2,000 years old. The future of the remains will be up to the homeowner and a tribal representative appointed by the state to speak for his or her ancestor.

The bones, a partial skull and jawbone and a femur, were returned to the ground after examination. The California Native American Heritage Commission, which protects and preserves Native American human remains and grave goods, will now contact the person most likely to be the living human descendant. Debbie Treadway, the Northern California specialist for the commission, said that tribal members interested in serving as a

descendant should register with the agency.

A descendant, once named, makes a recommendation to the property owner: To leave the remains undisturbed, to disinter and bury the bones elsewhere, or to pursue further study of the remains and gravesite. The property owner has the right to accept or reject the recommendation, Treadway said. She said such discoveries are not unusual in this area.

The Normandy Lane find is in the same location as a large archaeological dig in the early 1970s, when housing construction in the El Monte/O’Keefe area revealed the remains of a native settlement. Some of the artifacts, such as mortar and pestles, cooking stones and arrowheads, remain on display at Redwood Grove and Hidden Villa, according to Keith Gutierrez, who teaches school programs about the local Ohlone tribes at Redwood Grove.