Case Study: Kennewick Man
Archeology
Kennewick Man
I would like to begin with an overview of the current federal court case regarding the human remains found along the Columbia river in Washington state in the summer of 1996.
On the 28th of July 1996 the bones of an unidentified man were found along the Columbia river in Washington state by two men at an off shore powerboat race, the first pieces of the skull were discovered ten feet from the shore line and reported to the authorities. There was a subsequent search of the area that turned up a nearly complete male skeleton, initial thoughts were that the remains were from a settler possibly one to two hundred years old. Further study by Jim Chatter a forensic investigation and archeologist discovered what …show more content…
He had broken bones and injuries that could have easily been fatal. A broken infected elbow, crushed chest and separated ribs, and a fractured skull that all healed, he lived a brutal life but survived all of theses injuries. Other interesting traits that stood out were that his skull was caucasoid (European, west Asian, and North African.) not Native American. This raised a few questions, Jim contacted Doug Owsley an anthropologist at the Smithsonian to set up a team to study the skeleton and set up a dig site. What happened next would lead to a ten year long court debate between 8 scientist and 4 local Indian tribes hoping to get the rights to the …show more content…
Given these findings it is my opinion that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act does not apply and should not apply to such finds, unless scientific data can be provided that proves beyond doubt that the human remains are in fact genetically linked to the current known tribes of the America's. The public must be allowed to fully explore the full history of North America and all it's people, we would be doing a grave disservice to the U.S. people and the Indian nations by with holding greater scientific discoveries based solely on a loop hope in a law designed to protect grave sites predating 1492. Despite my decision I do respect the wishes of the tribes represented here today, but must disagree with your stance on Kennewick Man. You simply can not provide evidence to prove a link between your history and his
Kennewick Man
I would like to begin with an overview of the current federal court case regarding the human remains found along the Columbia river in Washington state in the summer of 1996.
On the 28th of July 1996 the bones of an unidentified man were found along the Columbia river in Washington state by two men at an off shore powerboat race, the first pieces of the skull were discovered ten feet from the shore line and reported to the authorities. There was a subsequent search of the area that turned up a nearly complete male skeleton, initial thoughts were that the remains were from a settler possibly one to two hundred years old. Further study by Jim Chatter a forensic investigation and archeologist discovered what …show more content…
He had broken bones and injuries that could have easily been fatal. A broken infected elbow, crushed chest and separated ribs, and a fractured skull that all healed, he lived a brutal life but survived all of theses injuries. Other interesting traits that stood out were that his skull was caucasoid (European, west Asian, and North African.) not Native American. This raised a few questions, Jim contacted Doug Owsley an anthropologist at the Smithsonian to set up a team to study the skeleton and set up a dig site. What happened next would lead to a ten year long court debate between 8 scientist and 4 local Indian tribes hoping to get the rights to the …show more content…
Given these findings it is my opinion that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act does not apply and should not apply to such finds, unless scientific data can be provided that proves beyond doubt that the human remains are in fact genetically linked to the current known tribes of the America's. The public must be allowed to fully explore the full history of North America and all it's people, we would be doing a grave disservice to the U.S. people and the Indian nations by with holding greater scientific discoveries based solely on a loop hope in a law designed to protect grave sites predating 1492. Despite my decision I do respect the wishes of the tribes represented here today, but must disagree with your stance on Kennewick Man. You simply can not provide evidence to prove a link between your history and his