Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 11-6-107 (2026)
Discovery of sites, artifacts or human remains - Notice to division, contractors and authorities
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) All state agencies, departments, institutions and commissions, as well as all counties and municipalities, shall cooperate fully with the division of archaeology.
- (b) Where any sites or artifacts may be found or discovered on property owned or controlled by the state or by any county or municipality, the agency, bureau, commission, governmental subdivision, or county or municipality having control over or owning such property and which is preparing to initiate construction or other earth-moving activities upon such property, or is currently performing work of this type upon such property, the public body having custody of the land shall comply with subsection (d) and is directed to urge supervisors of such works to notify the division of the discovery and location of such sites or artifacts immediately, and to cooperate to the fullest extent practicable with the division, either to prevent the destruction of such sites and artifacts or to allow the division to obtain maximum information and artifacts before these locations are disturbed or destroyed.
- (c) It is the responsibility of the state agencies to have this chapter made known to contractors who are to perform work upon any such public lands, and contractors shall be required to comply with this chapter.
- (d)
- (1) Any person who encounters or accidentally disturbs or disinters human remains on either publicly or privately owned land, except during excavations authorized under this chapter, shall:
- (A) Immediately cease disturbing the ground in the area of the human remains; and
- (B) Notify either the coroner or the medical examiner, and a local law enforcement agency.
- (2) Either the coroner or the medical examiner shall, within five (5) working days, determine whether the site merits further investigation within the scope of such official's duties.
- (3) If the coroner or the medical examiner, and law enforcement personnel, have no forensic or criminal concerns with regard to the site, then the coroner or the medical examiner shall notify the department.
- (4) Human remains and burial objects reported to the division shall be treated as provided in §§ 11-6-104 and 11-6-119, and/or title 46, chapter 4, if applicable.
- (5) A person who violates subdivision (d)(1)(A) or (d)(1)(B) commits a Class A misdemeanor;
- (6) This section does not apply to:
- (A) Normal farming activity, including, but not limited to, plowing, disking, harvesting and grazing; provided, that if human remains are discovered or disturbed, a report should be made to the officials specified in subdivision (d)(1)(B); or
- (B) Surface collecting.
- (7) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to grant a right of access or occupation to the public without the landowner's permission.
- (1) Any person who encounters or accidentally disturbs or disinters human remains on either publicly or privately owned land, except during excavations authorized under this chapter, shall:
- (e) All archaeological site clearance work carried out pursuant to this section shall, in as far as practicable, be scheduled so as not to interfere with construction activities, and such clearance work shall only be conducted at sites which have the potential to yield information significant to the scientific study of Tennessee's aboriginal and historic past.
Acts 1970, ch. 468, § 7; T.C.A., § 11-1507; Acts 1990, ch. 852, §§ 8, 9.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2001–2001 · leading case: State Ex Rel. Comm'r of Transp. v. Med. Bird Black Bear White Eagle, 63 S.W.3d 734 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001).
State Ex Rel. Comm'r of Transp. v. Med. Bird Black Bear White Eagle, 63 S.W.3d 734 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 11-6-107(d)(3). The purpose of the notice provision was to enable the Division to assure that Native American groups could see to it that a Native American would be present on site during the excavation and removal of the remains under Tenn.”
Tenn. Code Ann. § 11-6-107(d)(3): 1 case
State Ex Rel. Comm'r of Transp. v. Med. Bird Black Bear White Eagle, 63 S.W.3d 734 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 11-6-107(d)(3). The purpose of the notice provision was to enable the Division to assure that Native American groups could see to it that a Native American would be present on site during the excavation and removal of the remains under Tenn.”
Tenn. Code Ann. § 11-6-107(d)(4): 1 case
State Ex Rel. Comm'r of Transp. v. Med. Bird Black Bear White Eagle, 63 S.W.3d 734 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 11-6-107(d)(3). The purpose of the notice provision was to enable the Division to assure that Native American groups could see to it that a Native American would be present on site during the excavation and removal of the remains under Tenn.”
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