Tuqan Man facts for kids
The Tuqan Man is the name given to ancient human remains found on San Miguel Island off the coast of California in 2005. These bones, including a skull, belonged to a man who lived about 10,000 years ago. They were uncovered by natural beach erosion on San Miguel Island, which is the westernmost of the Channel Islands. Archaeologists from the University of Oregon found and carefully saved the remains in 2005.
Scientists figured out how old the bones were by using a method called radiocarbon dating. They also looked at tools and other items that were buried with the man. Studying his bones showed that he was in his forties when he died. It also suggested he had spent time living east of the Santa Barbara coastal area. Scientists tried to get DNA from the Tuqan Man's bones, but it wasn't possible.
The return of the remains to the island was delayed for a while. This was because of questions about which Native American tribe should receive them. A big case about another ancient skeleton, the Kennewick Man in Washington State, needed to be settled first. After that, following rules from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the remains were given back to the Chumash people in May 2018. The Chumash tribe had claimed the remains and reburied them on the island. The Chumash people lived on San Miguel Island for a very long time before European explorers arrived. They named the island "Tuquan" in their language, which is where the name "Tuqan Man" comes from.
Early Island Life
Archaeological studies show that people first lived on San Miguel Island at least 12,000 years ago. Back then, San Miguel was part of a larger island called Santarosae Island. This bigger island connected the northern Channel Islands when sea levels were lower, near the end of the last Ice Age.
Ancient Boats and Culture
The northern Channel Islands have never been connected to the mainland. This means the first people who settled there, called Paleo-Indians, must have had boats. They also had other skills for traveling on the ocean. The ancestors of the Chumash people lived on San Miguel Island for thousands of years. They developed a rich culture based on the ocean. They were skilled at fishing, hunting, and gathering food from the sea.
For many centuries, the Chumash built and used special canoes called tomols. These canoes were made from wooden planks sewn together and sealed with asphaltum, a natural tar. In their tomols, they fished and hunted in the island waters. They also traded actively with people on other islands and the mainland.
Island Mammoths
A long time ago, a small type of mammoth lived on the Channel Islands. These were descendants of the larger Columbian mammoths. However, these dwarf mammoths had already died out about 3,000 years before the Tuqan Man lived.
