A man doing some work in his yard found a human thigh bone believed to be hundreds of years old.
Dr. Phillip Croft, Muskegon County's deputy medical examiner, examined the bone and said it probably is a femur that belonged to an American Indian.
Croft said he didn't know whether it came from the body of a man or a woman. Anthropologists were studying the bone to find out more about it.
"It's of historic interest more than forensic interest," he told The Muskegon Chronicle for a story published Monday.
Michael Thompson, 38, was planting beach grass at his Muskegon County home on May 13 when his shovel struck the bone.
"It had the kneecap on it and the hip socket. Anyone who knows human anatomy could tell it was a human leg bone," he said.
Because it looked human, Thompson called the county sheriff's office to report the bone. Sheriff Dean Roesler said Thompson "absolutely did the right thing" by contacting authorities.
"If someone contacts local law enforcement agencies about these types of things, we can take necessary preliminary steps to get the bones analyzed," Roesler said.
"Without the expertise of knowing age and origin of the bone, there is always the off chance it is a crime victim, so not notifying law enforcement could easily derail a criminal investigation," he said.
Thompson, who plans to donate his discovery to an interested research group, said although he believes there probably are other bones on the property, he isn't going to "go digging up my yard looking for them."
"When we first moved out here (in 2001), we were told people found a lot of arrowheads in the area," he said.