The scientific work that could responsibly be done with the Arlington Springs femora — the radiocarbon dating, the bone-protein chemistry, the morphological analysis, the chronostratigraphic context — had been completed.

The bones had been measured, sampled, analyzed, and documented in the peer-reviewed literature.

What remained was physical custody of remains whose scientific work was substantially done, and whose appropriate custodians were the Indigenous community with the deepest historical connection to the land where they were found.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians received the remains in 2022 and proceeded with reburial according to their traditions.

The scientific record of the site — the published papers, the data, the museum collections of associated materials — remains accessible to researchers.