Kennewick Man

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The reconstructed face of the Kennewick Man.

Kennewick Man is the name for the remains of a prehistoric man found on a bank of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, on July 28, 1996. The discovery of Kennewick Man was accidental: a pair of spectators at the yearly hydroplane races found his skull while watching the races.[1]

The remains became embroiled in debates about the relationship between Native American religious rights and archaeology. Based on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, five Native American groups (the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Yakama, Wannapum, and Colville) claimed the remains as theirs, to be buried by traditional means. Only Umatillas continued further court proceeding. In February 2004 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a cultural link between the tribes and the skeleton was not met, opening the door for more scientific study.

In July 2005, scientists from around the United States convened in Seattle for ten days to study the remains, making many detailed measurements, and determined the cause of death.

1 Scientific significance
2 Ownership controversy
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

[edit] Scientific significance

The remains of the Kennewick Man.

The remains were initially given to forensic anthropologists, who studied them until it was determined that they were of a man who lived between 5,000 and 9,500 years ago. He was in his 30s or 40s, had a healed broken arm and a healed broken rib, and a 2.2-inch spear point was lodged in his hip (which did not kill him). Prior to detailed scientific analysis, a digital reconstruction of the skull revealed what some called Caucasoid features, although at least one of the early studies concluded the skull most resembled that of the present-day people of New Guinea. Press coverage frequently noted a similarity in appearance to Shakespearean and Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart.[2]

Later research suggests he most closely resembles South-East Asian, Polynesian or Ainu peoples. If confirmed, this would lend support to the theory that an important migration route lay along the North Pacific shoreline from Asia to America during a time when inland routes were blocked by ice. DNA analysis, which some Native American groups oppose, could help resolve this mystery, should there be enough remaining intact to extract from the bones.

All Paleo-Indian remains tested to date have been found to possess the same mitochondrial haplogroups as do modern Native Americans. Craniometric analyses have been somewhat contradictory, with some studies having linked Paleo-Indians to modern Native Americans, some to European and Southeast Asian populations, and with some finding no close affinity to any modern peoples.

The history of the peopling of the Americas by humans, once thought to have occurred solely by migration across the Bering Strait land bridge during the most recent ice age, has become increasingly untenable in view of the confirmation of sites throughout the Americas older than the last ice-free corridor available to migrants.

[edit] Ownership controversy

According to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, if human remains are found on federal lands and their cultural affiliation to an Indian tribe can be established, the affiliated tribe can claim them. The Umatilla tribe of Native Americans requested custody of the remains, wanting to bury them according to tribal tradition. However, their claim was contested by researchers hoping to study the remains; if Kennewick Man has no direct connection to modern-day native tribes, then NAGPRA should not apply.

The Umatilla argue that their origin beliefs say that their people have been present on the lands since the dawn of time, so a government holding that Kennewick Man is not Native American is tantamount to the government's rejection of their beliefs.

On February 4, 2004, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected the appeal of the Umatilla, Colville, Yakama, Nez Perce and other tribes on the grounds that they were unable to show any evidence of kinship. The tribes dropped their lawsuits for custody.

In April 2005, United States Senator John McCain introduced an amendment to NAGPRA (Senate Bill 536) which, in section 108, would change the definition of "Native American" from being that which "is indigenous to the United States" to "is or was indigenous to the United States." By that definition, Kennewick Man would be Native American, whether or not any link to a contemporary tribe could be found. Proponents of this argue that is in accord with current scientific understanding, which is that it is not in all cases possible for prehistoric remains to be traced to current tribal entities, not least because of the social upheaval, forced resettlement and extinction of entire ethnicities caused by disease and warfare in the wake of European colonization. Doing so, however, would still not remove the controversy surrounding Kennewick Man as then it would have to be decided which Native American group should take possession of the remains if he could not be definitively linked with a current group. To be of practical use in a historical and prehistorical context, some argue further that the term "Native American" should be applied so that it spans the entire range from the Clovis culture (which cannot be positively assigned to any contemporary tribal group) to the Métis, who only came into being as a consequence of European contact, yet constitute a distinct cultural entity.

The remains are now at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington, where they were deposited in October 1998, but they are legally the property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, since they were found on land belonging to the Corps.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

"Mystery of the First Americans" transcript of NOVA program. Airdate February 15, 2000.

[edit] Further reading

Chatters, James C. "Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man & the First Americans" New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. ISBN 0-684-85936-X
Dawkins, Richard. "Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder" Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-618-05673-4
Thomas, David Hurst. "Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity" New York: Basic Books, ca. 2000. ISBN 0-465-09224-1
Adler, Jerry. "A 9,000-Year-Old Secret." New York: Newsweek. Jul 25, 2005. Vol. 146, Issue 4; pg. 52. (link)