Kennewick Man Case: Scientific Studies and Legal Issues
Summary
The human skeletal remains referred to as the "Kennewick Man" or the "Ancient One", were found in July 1996 below the surface of Lake Wallula, a section of the Columbia River pooled behind McNary Dam in Kennewick, Washington. The discovery was made by a pair of college students wading in the shallow water along the southern lake bank.
Most commentators and reporters described the legal controversy that developed and swirled around the Kennewick remains in rather super-heated rhetoric pitting the interests of “science” against those of traditional Native Americans. This characterization ignores the detailed, intensive, and wide-ranging scientific investigation of the Kennewick remains undertaken to determine the facts relevant to the questions in the case and report them. News reports inaccurately suggested that scientific study of the Kennewick remains was not occurred, or that studies were hidden from the American public. In fact, this is quite untrue. A number of studies were conducted and reported widely. These studies have been easily and publically accessible since shortly after their completion.
Opinions differ on the interpretation of evidence and the law in the complex and unusual case of the Kennewick Man. This case has been surrounded with controversy from the very beginning. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the various decisions and positions as this case works its way through the federal court system, the thoroughness and objectivity of the government scientific investigations, the expertise of the investigating scientists, and the value of the information obtained should not be ignored.
Cite this Record
Kennewick Man Case: Scientific Studies and Legal Issues. Francis McManamon. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Pp. 4263-4272. New York, NY: Springer Science and Buisness Media. 2014 ( tDAR id: 398719) ; doi:10.6067/XCV89C6ZQW
Keywords
Culture
Archaic
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Early Archaic
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PaleoIndian
Material
Chipped Stone
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Dating Sample
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Human Remains
Site Name
Kennewick Man Archaeological Site
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Tri-Cities Archaeological District NRHP
Site Type
Burial Pit
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Funerary and Burial Structures or Features
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Isolated Burial
Investigation Types
Bioarchaeological Research
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Consultation
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Heritage Management
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Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
General
Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA)
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Archaeology And Law
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Archaeology And Native Americans
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Corps of Engineeers
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Cultural Affiliation
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Department of the Interior
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Kennewick Man
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Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
Geographic Keywords
Columbia River
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Kennewick
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Pacific Northwest
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Tri-Cities Area
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Washington (State / Territory)
Temporal Keywords
Early Archaic
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PaleoIndian
Spatial Coverage
min long: -119.165; min lat: 46.213 ; max long: -119.128; max lat: 46.231 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Francis McManamon
Principal Investigator(s): Francis McManamon
Sponsor(s): Corps of Engineers, National Curation Center, St. Louis; Corps of Engineers; Department of the Interior
Repository(s): Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
File Information
Name | Size | Creation Date | Date Uploaded | Access | |
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2014-EGA-Kennewick-Man-Case-as-published.pdf | 865.18kb | May 27, 2015 | May 27, 2015 2:59:54 PM | Public | |
copy uploaded by the author |