Kennewick Man is the name given to an ancient, nearly complete skeleton that was found in North America. Scientists have determined that the skeleton is that of a Paleo-Indian. Paleo-Indians were among the earliest people to inhabit the Western Hemisphere. Kennewick Man was named for the area in south-central Washington where the skeleton was discovered. However, some Native Americans prefer to call the skeleton “Ancient One.”
Two college students discovered the skeleton on the banks of the Columbia River in 1996. They reported it to law enforcement authorities, thinking it might be that of a missing person. But scientists called in to examine the skeleton found a stone spearpoint in the right hip. They then sent a sample of bone from the skeleton to a radiocarbon laboratory to determine its age. Scientists determined that Kennewick Man lived between about 8,000 and 9,000 years ago. The oldest known skeleton in the Western Hemisphere, found in Mexico, is about 12,000 years old.
Based on skull measurements, Kennewick Man did not appear to anthropologists to be related to any group of people living today. But his skull does resemble others discovered in the New World from the same time period. Among living peoples, Kennewick Man’s features are most similar to those of the Ainu, an isolated native population of Japan. In 2015, however, an analysis of genetic material obtained from the bones of Kennewick Man revealed that he was in fact most closely related to modern Native Americans.
Scientists estimate that Kennewick Man was about 5 feet 9 inches (175 centimeters) tall and had muscular arms and legs. His teeth were worn down from a diet that contained large amounts of grit. His teeth were free from the cavities and dental diseases common among the earliest farmers and people living today. New bone had grown around the spearpoint, indicating that he lived for several years with the point in his hip. Experts estimate he was about 45 years old or older when he died.
Five Native American groups from the Washington area requested the return of the skeleton. Many Native Americans believe that excavation of burials and analysis of the remains is disrespectful and disrupts the spirits of the dead. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990 requires institutions receiving federal money to return human remains and grave items to Native American tribes if the tribes can prove their “cultural affiliation” to the remains.
A group of scientists, however, began a lawsuit to prevent the return of the Kennewick skeleton to the Native American groups. They requested the opportunity to conduct a complete analysis of the bones, which could contribute to their understanding of the first inhabitants of the Americas.
Because Kennewick Man was found on federal land, the United States Department of the Interior was responsible for deciding whether the skeleton would be available for research or if it would be returned to the Native Americans. The department selected a panel of experts to examine the skeleton and the area where it was found. In 2000, the department determined that Kennewick Man was a Native American and would be returned without further study to the Indigenous (native) groups that claimed his remains. A group of scientists, however, challenged this decision in court. In 2002, a federal court ruled that the skeleton should not be returned to Native American groups for reburial. In 2004, those groups ended all attempts to appeal the ruling, allowing scientists to study the skeleton.
In 2016, officials with the United States Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged that Kennewick Man was in fact related to Native Americans and announced that the skeleton would be returned. Representatives of the Yakama, Wanapum, Umatilla, Colville, and Nez Perce peoples agreed to temporarily keep the skeleton at the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington. In February 2017, Kennewick Man was buried in keeping with traditional customs at an undisclosed location near the Columbia River.
