Kennewick Man facts for kids

Kennewick Man is the name given to the bones of a very old man. These bones were found near the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, USA. This happened on July 28, 1996. It is one of the most complete ancient skeletons ever found.

Scientists used radiocarbon dating to find out how old the bones are. They learned that Kennewick Man lived about 8,900 to 9,000 years ago. For a long time, it was hard to know exactly who he was related to. But in 2015, new ancient DNA tests showed something important. Kennewick Man is most closely related to Native Americans, especially those living near the Columbia River today.

His discovery caused a big argument for many years. The Umatilla people and other Native American tribes wanted the bones back. They wanted to rebury him according to their traditions. This is allowed by a law called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This law helps return old human remains and cultural items to tribes.

However, some scientists, like James Chatters and Douglas Owsley, disagreed. They thought the bones looked more like people from Polynesia or Southeast Asia. If this were true, the bones would not be covered by the NAGPRA law.

Kennewick Man became part of a nine-year court case. It was between the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), scientists, and Native American tribes. The tribes called him "the Ancient One." They wanted to rebury him and stop scientific study. The US Army Corps of Engineers, which managed the land, first agreed with the tribes. But then, eight scientists, including Owsley, sued. They wanted the right to study the skeleton.

In 2004, a court decided that there was no direct cultural link between the tribes and Kennewick Man because of how old the bones were. This allowed scientists to study the remains. The USACE kept the bones safe. In 2005, a team of scientists studied the skeleton in detail. Their findings were published in a book in 2014.

Then, in 2015, new DNA tests from the University of Copenhagen changed everything. They proved that Kennewick Man is indeed related to modern Native Americans. This includes the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation from the area where he was found. Scientists had told the Army Corps of Engineers about this in 2013.

Chatters, who first found the bones, had initially thought the skull looked "Caucasoid." But he changed his mind after finding similar skull shapes in other Native American ancestors. Scientists who study ancient people's genetics were not surprised. Most ancient people in the Americas have strong genetic ties to modern Native Americans. Kennewick Man was found to be very closely related to the Colville tribe.

In 2016, the US government passed a law to return the bones to a group of Columbia Basin tribes. This group included the Colville, Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Wanapum tribes. Kennewick Man was finally buried on February 18, 2017. About 200 tribal members attended the burial at a secret location.

Discovery of the Ancient One

The discovery of Kennewick Man was an accident. On July 28, 1996, two people, Will Thomas and David Deacy, were floating on tubes down the Columbia River. They were watching hydroplane races. They found a skull in the riverbank at Columbia Park. The bones had become visible because of water erosion.

The local coroner gave the skull to an archaeologist named James Chatters for study. Chatters visited the site ten times. He found 350 more bones and pieces, making almost a full skeleton. The skull was complete with all its teeth. Most major bones were found, except for the breastbone and some small bones in the hands and feet.

After studying the bones, Chatters thought they belonged to a man aged 40–55 years old. He was tall, about 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches. He was also muscular but slender. Chatters noted that the bones had some features that he called "Caucasoid." He said they lacked features typical of modern Native Americans. This led him to think the body was "Caucasian," which is an old anthropological term.

A small bone piece was sent for radiocarbon dating. This test showed the skeleton was 9,300 to 9,600 years old. This was much older than people first thought. Later tests refined the age to 8,900 to 9,000 years old.

Chatters also found a stone spear point stuck in the man's hip bone. It was about 3 inches long. An X-ray didn't show it, but a CT scan did. The spear point was made of a gray stone from a volcano. It was leaf-shaped with jagged edges. This type of point is called a Cascade point. It was used by people living 12,000 to 7,500 years ago.

Learning About Kennewick Man

Scientists wanted to learn more about Kennewick Man. They tried to see if he was related to the Umatilla Native American tribe. This tribe lived in the area where the bones were found. They tried to get DNA from the bones. But at that time, the technology was not good enough to get useful ancient DNA.

Forensic anthropologist Douglas Owsley later led a team to study Kennewick Man in 2005. He found that the bones in Kennewick Man's arms were bent. Owsley believed this was because of strong muscles. These muscles would have developed from a lifetime of hunting and spearfishing. Kennewick Man was also right-handed. His right arm bones were noticeably larger than his left.

Chatters and his team compared Kennewick Man's skull to many modern groups. They found his skull was most similar to the Ainu, who are an ancient group from Japan. However, when they removed skull size from the comparison, no clear link to any group was found.

Another anthropologist, Joseph Powell, also studied the bones. He used skull measurements from Asian and North American groups. Powell said Kennewick Man was not European. He most resembled the Ainu and Polynesians. Powell explained that the Ainu came from the Jōmon people. These East Asian people are more closely related to Southeast Asians.

Powell's dental analysis showed the skull was 94% consistent with a group called Sundadont. This group includes the Ainu and Polynesians. It was only 48% consistent with a group called Sinodont, found in North Asia. Powell concluded that the skull was "unlike American Indians and Europeans."

Ancient skulls in the Americas show a lot of variety. Skulls older than 8,000 years often look very different from modern Native Americans. Scientists debate if this variety comes from different groups of people or from adapting to local areas.

In 2005, Owsley's team spent 10 days examining the skeleton. They found Kennewick Man had arthritis in his right elbow, both knees, and some back bones. But it was not severe. He also had injuries that had healed. These included a broken rib, a dent on his forehead, and a healed spear jab. The team thought he might have been as young as 38 when he died.

Scientists also found that Kennewick Man was buried on purpose. He was lying on his back with his feet slightly turned out and arms at his sides. This position could not have happened by accident.

The Owsley team's findings were published in a book in 2014. Many experts helped, including forensic anthropologists and chemists. They tried to understand Kennewick Man's life and background.

Tests on his bone collagen showed what he ate. For the last 20 years of his life, he ate mostly marine mammals. He also drank water from melting glaciers. The closest place with glacial meltwater and marine life at that time was Alaska. This suggests he traveled a lot by water along the northern coast.

His skull measurements were similar to the Ainu people of Japan. The authors of the study thought the Jōmon people (ancestors of the Ainu) and Kennewick Man might share common ancestors. These ancestors were likely seafaring people from coastal Asia.

DNA Reveals His Ancestry

New genetic research has made it possible to study ancient DNA (aDNA). In June 2015, new DNA results were announced. They showed that Kennewick Man is more closely related to modern Native Americans than to any other group in the world. His genetic profile was especially close to members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Of the five tribes that first claimed Kennewick Man, only the Colville members gave DNA samples. This made it hard to find his exact closest living relatives among all Native American tribes. His Y-DNA haplogroup is Q-M3. His mitochondrial DNA is X2a. Both of these genetic markers are found almost only in Native Americans.

Why Kennewick Man is Important to Science

The discovery of Kennewick Man, and other ancient skeletons, has helped scientists learn more about how early Native Americans came to the Americas. One idea is that a single group of hunters and gatherers came across the Bering land bridge. This land bridge connected Asia and North America during the last ice age.

Another idea is that more than one group migrated. Some might have come by land across Beringia. Others might have traveled by boat along the coast of Asia.

The fact that some ancient skeletons, like Kennewick Man, look similar to coastal Asian people supports the idea of more than one migration. DNA analysis of these ancient skeletons can help show if they are related to people from Beringia or coastal Asia.

No matter the debate, Kennewick Man has taught us a lot. He showed that early coastal travelers lived a mobile life, often traveling by water.

The "Race" Discussion

In 2005, a reporter named Jack Hitt wrote that "racial preferences" influenced the debate about Kennewick Man's origins. James Chatters, the first anthropologist to examine the skull, said it lacked features of the "classic Mongoloid stock" that modern Native Americans belong to. He added that many skull features were "definitive of modern-day Caucasoid peoples." In 1998, Chatters made a model of the skull's face. Some people said Kennewick Man looked like British actor Patrick Stewart.

When Chatters used the word "Caucasoid," many people thought it meant Kennewick Man was "Caucasian," European, or "white." This was despite the fact that the term "Caucasoid" had also been used for the Ainu of northern Japan, which would have been a more likely connection. In 1998, The New York Times reported that "White supremacist groups" used Kennewick Man to claim that white people came to America long before Native Americans. Some groups even sued to have the bones genetically tested.

Native American tribes said that claims of European origin were an attempt to avoid the law about ancient bones. The Corps of Engineers and the government supported the Native American claim in a long lawsuit.

The DNA results published in 2015 strongly showed that Kennewick Man had Native American ancestors. This genetic evidence supports the idea that the ancestors of Native Americans came from Siberia. They migrated across the Bering Strait land mass during the last ice age. This evidence goes against other ideas that early migrants came from Southeast Asia or Europe.

Return and Reburial in 2017

In September 2016, the US government passed a law. This law allowed the ancient bones to be returned to a group of Columbia Basin tribes. They could then rebury him according to their traditions. The group included the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, and the Wanapum Band of Priest Rapids.

The bones of Kennewick Man were prepared and removed from the Burke Museum on February 17, 2017. The next day, more than 200 members of five Columbia Plateau tribes were there for his burial.

Images for kids

• 

  A reconstruction of Kennewick Man's face.