Interesting history topics are just a click away.© 2009-2019 Historic Mysteries. Chatters was pretty sure that the Kennewick Man’s skull was not that of a Native American. At the very last minute, a judge decided to hold off on any further action until experts could make a more clear assessment about the ownership of the skeleton. The ancient skeleton was buried in a Washat ceremony Saturday in southeastern Washington.More than 200 members from five Columbia Plateau tribes gathered on a chilly Saturday morning to rebury the 9,000-year-old bones of their ancestor, commonly known as the Kennewick Man, at an undisclosed location in southeast Washington.The ceremony caps more than 20 years of legal challenges and scientific studies that ensued after two college students first discovered the Kennewick Man’s remains along the Columbia River. Additionally, they reasoned that other people had buried him at the Columbia River and that he did not die naturally at the site.In 2015, an international team, Rasmussen et al., conducted a successful DNA analysis on the skeletal remains. Who “owned” the skeleton and had the right to decide its ultimate fate?Because the discovery of the Kennewick Man occurred on Federal lands, the Army Corps of Engineers, who oversaw the management of that part of the Columbia River, was first to claim control.
The court said in part, “Kennewick Man’s remains are so old and the information about his era is so limited [that we cannot] conclude reasonably that Kennewick Man shares…genetic or cultural features with presently existing…people or cultures.” Throughout this time, the skeleton remained at the Burke Museum.The scientists lost no time in resuming their analysis of the bones.
The skull did not look like a modern one, so he sent for James Chatters, a local archaeologist.
They claimed that the remains had much more in common with known ancestors of Polynesia, islands around New Zealand, or the Ainu people of Japan. A plastic casting of the skull was made from the bones known as Kennewick Man in Richland, Wash. The teeth indicated a diet untypical of other ancient remains found in the area.
The scientists also determined that he may have spent periods of time in the region of Alaska.
Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases.
All speculation ceased when the team announced, “We find that Kennewick Man is closer to modern Native Americans than to any other population worldwide.”Multiple scientists verified the results, and there was no question of the validity of the conclusion.The Army Corps of Engineers declared once and for all that they would repatriate the bones to the five Native American tribes who fought to reclaim the Ancient One.In early 2017, the Yakama Nation, Nez Perce Tribe, Umatilla, Wanapum Band of Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation took the Kennewick Man back to the land near the Columbia River. A Net Inceptions project. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Email.
He described it as a cathartic moment for the tribes, with emotions ranging from joy and relief to sadness that some tribal elders did not live to see the Ancient One’s reburial. The Story of Kennewick Man: From Discovery to Reburial. Sams said the tribes led a Washat ceremony, singing songs that are thousands of years old and may very well have been from the Kennewick Man’s time.Afterward, members of the five tribes attended a traditional dinner of salmon, buffalo, elk, roots and berries at the Wanapum Longhouse in Priest Rapids, Washington.“This is a big day, and our people have come to witness and honor our ancestor,” said Armand Minthorn, CTUIR board member and Longhouse leader. With this information, the scientists enlisted the help of an attorney in the hopes of getting an injunction to halt any further action on the part of the Army Corps or the tribes.
On the other hand, a group of scientists sued the federal government (represented by the Corps) to prevent the remains from being returned to the tribes under NAGPRA. Owsley and Chatters kept track of the bones. He would uncover several broken bones and a spearhead made of stone lodged in the hip of the skeleton.
Meanwhile, the remains stayed in the possession of the Army Corps.The legal case continued. Over the course of the following month, they discovered more than 300 bones that made up approximately 90% of an adult human male.
The men called the police, who surmised that what they saw was not the scene of a crime. | This website uses cookies to improve your experience. The tribes said they would bury the remains, as was their custom, and they would cease all scientific investigations.By this time Chatters had involved several other scientists in the study of the bones, and he desperately wanted to continue what could easily be a significant landmark in the study of early American history. Thus, the officers brought in the local coroner. Signs of arthritis had set in his joints, and there were two non-fatal wounds on his skull. And after their 20-year fight to give him the honor that they felt he deserved, they laid him to his final rest.Doug MacGowan lives on the San Francisco peninsula with his wife, a dog, and far too many cats. 2015). Kennewick Man is the name generally given to the skeletal remains of a prehistoric Paleoamerican man found on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, United States, on July 28, 1996.
Many people expressed shock at the decision that went against the Native American tribes and the Army Corps. To add weight to his claim, Chatters sought the help of anthropologist Douglas Owsley of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Nor did he know at the time that the skeleton he was looking would generate two decades of legal battles to reclaim it.By the evening on the day of the discovery, the coroner and Chatters discovered many other bones nearby.