A Synopsis of Kennewick Man
Kennewick man is the most complete prehistoric human remains.3 It was
accidentally found in the Pacific Northwest on a bank of the Columbia River in
Kennewick, Washington in 1996.3 Bone tests have shown it to date 9200 years.6
Archaeologist James Chatters was called in by Coroner Floyd Johnson when the remains
were first discovered.9 The remains had been scattered due to erosion but Chatters
managed to collect 380 bones.9 The skeleton is nearly complete, missing only the
sternum and a few small bones of hands and feet and all teeth were present at the time of
death.9 At the time of discovery Chatters had classified Kennewick man as Caucasoid.9
Later testing showed his features more closely resemble those of the natives of the Pacific
Rim than those of Native Americans.8
The Kennewick skeleton was physically examined, measured, and recorded using
current and standard scientific methods and techniques.4 The remains were determined to
be those of a male. Owsley described Kennewick Man as a wandering hunter, 5-foot 7 or
8 inches, probably weighing 161 pounds, with a major league baseball-caliber right
spear-throwing arm and a Polynesian-like face with good teeth.6 The team concluded that
he was younger at his death than originally estimated, likely 39 or 40, rather than 50.6
A stone projectile was found lodged in Kennewick man’s hipbone.11 This
projectile was made from a siliceous gray stone that was found to have volcanic origins.11
The projectile was leaf-shaped, long and broad, and had serrated edges fitting the
definition of a Cascade point.11 This type of projectile point is a feature of the Cascade
phase, which occurred roughly 7,500 to 12,000 years ago.11 Kennewick Man also has
some healed fractured ribs, indicating he had been banged up badly sometime before his
death.6 Isotopes in the bones told scientists Kennewick Man was a hunter of marine
mammals, such as seals.2 Though he was purposefully buried along the Columbia River,
scientists have not yet figured out how he died.6
Since Kennewick man was found it has triggered a nine-year legal clash between
scientists, the American government and Native American tribes.12 The tribes argued that
the skeleton is one of their ancestors and should be reburied in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).6 The
anthropologists, however, wanted to study the bones, and argued that there is no evidence
of a direct relationship between the skeleton and today's tribes.6 In 2004, the US Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a cultural link between any of the Native
American tribes and the Kennewick Man was not genetically supported, allowing
scientific study of the remains to continue.3 It was ruled that the remains of Kennewick
Man were to reside at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle.3
Unfortunately, during the three years that the Kennewick Man skeleton resided in the
care of Corps of Engineers, the bones were improperly stored.12 Bones went missing; a
small percentage of them were reburied.12 Worse for the scientific value of the bones is
the fact that the Corps allowed the Native American community ritual access to the
bones.12 During those ceremonies sage and cedar were burned on or near the bones,
possibly inhibiting several of the scientific studies, including future DNA studies.12 In
2005, a team of scientists from around the US finally assembled in Seattle for a ten day
detailed study of the remains.10
ARPA, enacted in 1979, was intended to protect archaeological sites on federal
lands.12 Under ARPA, the intent was to protect and conserve the archaeological materials
for, essentially, science.12 Artifacts found under ARPA are to be properly curated, and it
is specifically stated that such materials be made available to qualified scientists.12
NAGPRA, enacted in 1990, was intended to see that archaeological and cultural materials
associated with burials and other ceremonies that were found on federal lands would be
returned to their original owners if they could be identified, that is, the American Indians
who made them or their descendants.12 NAGPRA was particularly aimed at returning
human remains and ceremonial goods, untold thousands of which waste away in
museums around the country.12 Written into NAGPRA is a mandate to the federal agency
involved to discuss the issues concerning the repatriation with tribes.12 Nothing in
NAGPRA discusses consultation with anyone else, and curation is not an issue.12
In a historic first meeting of two very different worlds, Columbia Plateau tribal
leaders met privately in October 2012 with scientist Doug Owsley, who led the court
battle to study Kennewick Man.2 Owsley says study shows that not only was Kennewick
Man not Native American, he wasn't even from the Columbia Valley, which was
inhabited by prehistoric Plateau tribes.2 Pressed by Armand Minthorn of the Umatilla
Board of Trustees, who asked Owsley directly, "Is Kennewick Man Native American?"
Owsley said no.2 "There is not any clear genetic relationship to Native American
peoples," Owsley said.2 "I do not look at him as Native American ... I can't see any kind
of continuity. He is a representative of a very different people."2 His skull, Owsley said,
was most similar to an Asian Coastal people whose characteristics are shared with
people, later, of Polynesian descent.2 Justice Jelderks, one of the court judges, argued that
under NAGPRA, to be able to return a particular funerary item or set of skeletal remains,
one must identify a one-to-one relationship between the ancient culture and a present day
claimant.12 The Kennewick Man case, he argues, cannot be connected to the claimants for
several reasons.12 First, there are essentially no cultural remains buried with the skeletal
remains of Kennewick man.12 In fact, the only cultural remains found with him was the
projectile point buried in his thigh.12 Secondly, the area in which Kennewick Man was
found was not one tribe's traditional lands; in fact, he was found in what was considered a
crossroads by most of the tribes residing in the Northwestern United States.12 Thirdly, as
has been stated and restated in the press, Kennewick man's skeleton is morphologically
different than modern tribes.12 His skeleton is, however, like others found dated to the
same period in the north American continent; but no connection to modern tribes for any
of them.12
Tribal members make regular visits to the museum to pay their respects and offer
songs and ceremony to the Ancient One, as he is called in tribal communities.2 Armand
Minthorn, a Umatilla leader, said reburial still needs to happen, and that the law should
be changed to give tribes better control of sacred remains.2 Rex Buck, leader of the
Wanapum people, told Owsley he appreciated the presentation, but that lamprey eel could
provide the same types of marine-mammal nutrients that Owsley noted.2 Jaqueline Cook,
repatriation specialist for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, said
scientists' finding that the skeleton had been purposefully buried was significant.2 Audie
Huber said "Many cultures believe that once remains are in the ground, they should stay
there," he said.12 He stated that having remains sitting in boxes or on display in museums
disregards living tribal members.12 Huber said the tribes dedicated time and resources to
the Kennewick Man case because they knew it would set a precedent for the federal
government in future cases.12
To Burke Museum anthropological archaeologist Peter Lape, the biggest question
at hand is whether peer review, a time-honored scientific practice, is being ignored by
leading forensic anthropologist Douglas Owsley.6 He believes that many facets of
Owsley's team's conclusions, such as the isotope results to speculate on Kennewick Man's
diet and the potential elasticity of a human skull, stem from tricky aspects of forensic
anthropology and he's bothered by the fact that no one outside of Owsley's team has had a
chance to scrutinize the Smithonsian's data to see how the team reached its conclusions.6
Standard procedure in the academic world is for scientists to submit articles to scholarly
journals, have other experts review the articles prior to publication, and then have experts
debate results after publication.6
Works Cited
1. National NAGPRA. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.nps.gov/history/nagpra/>.
2. "Kennewick Man Bones Not from Columbia Valley, Scientist Tells Tribes."
The Seattle Times. N.p., 9 Oct. 2012. Web.
<http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019387577_bones10m.html>.
3. "Kennewick Man." Burke Museum. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.burkemuseum.org/kman/>.
4. McManamon, F. P. "Kennewick Man." NPS Archeology Program. N.p., May
2004. Web. <http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/kennewick/>.
5. "Kennewick Man." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web.
<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/kennewick/>.
6. Stang, John. "Burke Archaeologist Challenges Smithsonian over Kennewick
Man." Crosscut.com. N.p., 2 Nov. 2012. Web.
<http://crosscut.com/2012/11/02/science/111236/kennewick-man-critique/>.
7. King, Anna. "Prehistoric 'Kennewick Man' Was All Beefcake." NPR. NPR, 12
Oct. 2012. Web. <http://www.npr.org/2012/10/12/162795379/prehistoric-kennewickman-was-all-beefcake>.
8. "Kennewick Man Skeletal Find May Revolutionalize Continent's History."
ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 Apr. 2006. Web.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060425183740.htm>.
9. Chatters, James C. "Kennewick Man." Northern Clans, Northern Traces. N.p.,
n.d. Web. <http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/kennewick_man.html>.
10. Phillips, Melissa Lee. "Scientists Finally Study Kennewick Man." BBC News.
BBC, 07 June 2005. Web. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4651831.stm>.
11. Chatters, James C. "The Recovery and First Analysis of an Early Holocene
Human Skeleton from Kennewick, Washington." Society for American Archaeology.
N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.math.ubc.ca/~fsl/SCIE001.chatters.pdf>.
12. "The Case of the 9000 Year Old Kennewick Man Revisited." The Case of the
9000 Year Old Kennewick Man Revisited. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.viewzone.com/ken.visit.html>.
13. "Kennewick Man Was Just Passing Through, Anthropologist Says." The
Columbian. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/oct/14/kennewickman-was-just-passing-through-anthropolog/>.