Each of these interpretations is possible and none can be confirmed.

What is confirmed is that the needle was there, in the ground, beside her bones, for more than twelve thousand years, until January 1989 when a rock crusher screen made it visible again.

What Happens To Ancient Remains — And Why The Conversation Matters

The treatment of ancient human remains in American archaeology has changed dramatically over the half-century since the Buhl Woman was buried, and the change has been driven primarily by Indigenous advocacy rather than by scientific discipline acting on its own initiative.

Before the late twentieth century, the standard treatment of Native American skeletal material found during archaeological or construction work was collection and analysis.