Plaza excavation halted over remains *

Miguel Angel Corzo, President and CEO of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, announced a halt to the archaeological excavation where the remains of early Angelenos have been found. His statement:

We at LA Plaza have decided to halt work on the former camposanto area of our campus indefinitely, in light of the unexpected number of human remains uncovered and their great historical significance. From the moment we discovered human remains on our site, we have conducted the necessary archaeological excavation in strict accordance with the law, all professional archaeological and osteological standards, and in communication with the Los Angeles Archdiocese, the Native American Heritage Commission, and the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

At this time, however, we believe it is in the best interest of both LA Plaza and the larger community to put this section of our project on hold. Moving forward, we will continue to work with all interested parties and proceed with the rest of our construction as planned. We believe this discovery and the resulting conversations will engender further education about the rich and complex history of Los Angeles, a history we are committed to exploring here at LA Plaza.

The archdiocese, by the way, hasn't been all that happy with the communications from Corzo thus far. An archdiocese letter to Corzo earlier this week talked about "new ethical and legal questions" surrounding the excavation. Also, Associated Press ran a correction on Thursday saying LA Plaza had mistakenly said the work site is owned by the archdiocese of Los Angeles. "The site was archdiocesan property in the 19th century, but is now owned by Los Angeles County," the correction said.

Updated post