Many people, myself included, argue that there is. I acknowledge that there's a value to some excavations, but you should pursue those goals as respectfully as

Many people, myself included, argue that there is. I acknowledge that there's a value to some excavations, but you should pursue those goals as respectfully as possible. If I can't ask descendants, the safest thing to do ethically is treat them as I would treat something equivalent in my own life. In a more pragmatic sense, trying to draw a line at some finite number of years always turns up an edge case like Kennewick man where someone genuinely cares about a 9k year old skeleton. Adopting the conservative approach of "extend the same respect to everyone, regardless of age" is both the simplest and the legally safest ethical system.