Geologic, Geoarchaeologic, and Historical Investigation of the Discovery Site of Ancient Remains in Columbia Park, Kennewick, Washington

Lillian D. Wakeley; William L. Murphy; Joseph Dunbar; Andrew G. Warne; Frederick L. Briuer; Paul R. Nickens

Geologic, Geoarchaeologic, and Historical Investigation of the Discovery Site of Ancient Remains in Columbia Park, Kennewick, Washington

Part of the Archaeology of Kennewick Man project

Author(s): Lillian D. Wakeley; William L. Murphy; Joseph Dunbar; Andrew G. Warne; Frederick L. Briuer; Paul R. Nickens

Year: 1998

Summary

During December 1997, a research team from the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) conducted geologic investigations at a site in Columbia Park, Kennewick, WA, where human remains had been found in the summer of 1996. This study was conducted at the request of the U.S. Army Engineer District, Walla Walla (CENWW), in support of the Corps' resource stewardship responsibilities and to represent the Federal interest in legal issues related to the remains known as Kennewick Man. It was coordinated with concomitant studies of the same site conducted by two separate groups to which permits had been issued by CENWW under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA).

The two principal questions addressed by the WES study were:

(a) What age is indicated by geologic evidence at the study site? Asked another way, does the geologic evidence at the site support the age indicated by earlier age-dating of the remains at approximately 9,000 years?

(b) Are there any indicators of specific cultural affiliation for the remains?

Although the remains were not recovered in place in the sediments, it was important to recognize the possibility that cultural materials related to the remains might be recovered at the site.

Cite this Record

Geologic, Geoarchaeologic, and Historical Investigation of the Discovery Site of Ancient Remains in Columbia Park, Kennewick, Washington. Lillian D. Wakeley, William L. Murphy, Joseph Dunbar, Andrew G. Warne, Frederick L. Briuer, Paul R. Nickens. 1998 ( tDAR id: 371592) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8Q52NFP