Every once in a while, here in the Hamptons, a small discovery is made with unbelievable historic ramifications. The history of this area is a big part of what makes it so special. And so it was that last week a truly amazing artifact was discovered in the ground in Water Mill. An American Indian skull was discovered, believed to be, according to the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office, anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 years old.

Interestingly enough, the skull was found because of a restriction that applied to the landowners of the property where it was discovered.

The restriction says that in order for the landowners to subdivide the property, which is South of The Highway, an archeological study must be done on the building lots. The idea behind this is to make sure that historical items that are turned up get handed over to the proper authorities. Centuries ago, the Shinnecock’s ruled the land, and so it is important to search for things like arrowheads or other ancient items that can be returned to the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. This restriction is exactly what the owners of the land, Thomas James and Lorraine Klugh were faced with when they tried to turn their property into four separate residential building lots back in 1992. However, the discovery of a skull is a lot different then an arrowhead for obvious reasons. The discovery of the skull in Water Mill shines a spotlight on the historic value of our area and also the conflicting, never-ending need to develop land and turn a profit in real estate.

In a way, it is a sad irony that the primary time that these types of discoveries occur is usually when there is a plan to develop the land on which they are found. Which brings about the question of, what happens now to the land? Does the subdivision continue or does the Town of Southampton decide that they want to keep the land as historical and purchase it with the community preservation fund? The skull will be reburied in a ceremony by the Shinnecock Indian Nation now that it has been turned over to them.

From the Shinnecock’s perspective, they are hoping that the land is preserved and their thinking on this is completely justified. After all, if your ancestor’s burial ground were disturbed to make way for a house, you’d be pretty upset about it too. You always have to make sure that when you look at a situation like this you step into the shoes of everybody.

If you step into the shoes of the landowner, you can see that though they are feeling sentimental for the historic nature of the land, they also want to do the best they can with their investment.

The Shinnecock Nation exists today on a 480-hectare reservation adjacent to the Town of Southampton. For centuries, the Shinnecocks have lived on the shores of Eastern Long Island and of the 1,300 remaining members of the tribe, about 600 of them reside on this Reservation located just outside of Southampton. I have personally attended their Thanksgiving Celebration and can tell you first-hand that they are a wonderful, caring group of people.

The discovery of this Indian skull on a Southampton Town resident’s property is a reminder for us of the brutal time when America became America and the horrendous things were done by the white men to the natives. It is our history, a history of real estate development, which has brought us to this point today. So what will happen with the land now?

Nobody from the Town Of Southampton has come out and said that they will preserve the land by purchasing it from the owners at a fair market value, but that doesn’t mean that they are throwing the idea out the window. Years ago, the town did show an interest in preserving the land but no action was carried out. Will this skull discovery rekindle the interest to preserve that land? Only time will tell.