The subsequent scientific study of the remains, including the radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis, was conducted during the period when NAGPRA was coming into effect and the frameworks for consultation and repatriation were being developed.

Southern Ute cultural representatives participated in discussions about the Hourglass Cave remains, bringing their cultural perspectives and their community’s interest in the treatment of ancient individuals found in the region to the conversation with researchers.

The specific history of these consultations — the extent of the consultation, the specific positions and requests of the Southern Ute representatives, and the eventual outcome regarding the disposition of the remains — is documented in sources that deserve direct consultation for the precise details, and any specific claims about the final outcome of repatriation discussions should be verified against those sources.

What can be said is that the Hourglass Cave case was among the early examples of the kind of engagement between scientific research communities and Indigenous communities that NAGPRA would subsequently require more systematically.