Pipeline route clear

A North Dakota state inspection of an oil pipeline site has found no sign of the Native American artefacts or human remains that an American Indian tribe says are present, the state’s chief archaeologist said. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe had cited the potential for burial grounds and other artefacts as a major reason to lead protests that have stymied completion of the project. Chief archaeologist Paul Picha said in a memo first published yesterday by conservative blogger Rob Port that seven state archaeologists inspected the 2km section along the route of the US$3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline in southern North Dakota. The memo said only some animal teeth and bone fragments were found during the survey last week.