Posted on 01/18/2015 9:27:17 PM PST by Theoria
Nearly two decades after the ancient skeleton called Kennewick Man was discovered on the banks of the Columbia River, the mystery of his origins appears to be nearing resolution.
Genetic analysis is still under way in Denmark, but documents obtained through the federal Freedom of Information Act say preliminary results point to a Native-American heritage.
The researchers performing the DNA analysis “feel that Kennewick has normal, standard Native-American genetics,” according to a 2013 email to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the care and management of the bones. “At present there is no indication he has a different origin than North American Native American.”
If that conclusion holds up, it would be a dramatic end to a debate that polarized the field of anthropology and set off a legal battle between scientists who sought to study the 9,500-year-old skeleton and Northwest tribes that sought to rebury it as an honored ancestor.
In response to The Seattle Times’ records request, geochemist Thomas Stafford Jr., who is involved in the DNA analysis, cautioned that the early conclusions could “change to some degree” with more detailed analysis. The results of those studies are expected to be published soon in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Stafford and Danish geneticist Eske Willerslev, who is leading the project at the University of Copenhagen, declined to discuss the work until then.
But other experts said deeper genetic sequencing is unlikely to overturn the basic determination that Kennewick Man’s closest relatives are Native Americans. The result comes as no surprise to scientists who study the genetics of ancient people, said Brian Kemp, a molecular anthropologist at Washington State University.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
They're going to go wild on this one.
Who knows who the Kenniwick Man is. It might be a different race that went extinct.
I wonder if Horses spend as much energy wondering about which breeds other horses are as we do wondering about and ascribing significance to what path our ancestors charted between the time they left Africa and the present day.
Probably not. The article says the skeleton dates about 9500 years old. The first Clovis Culture artifacts are dated to 12,000 years old. While there is still some controversy with them, some sites of human habitation date earlier than the first Clovis.
This whole Kennewick Man saga seems like a “Full Employment” exercise for “Native American” activist, Anthropologists needing to “Publish or Perish” and Lawyers running out of ambulances & mesothelioma to chase.
SOYLENT GREEN IS PURPLE!
And still faithfully voting a straight Democrat ticket!
Would scientists lie for a cause?
DNA is dangerous. In certain configurations it kills.
It’s like living in SA during Apartheid, only the repressors are called Democrats.
The more controversial sites of vastly older bones are now closed to excavation - these are south of the boarder - and dates were estimated in the 200-250,000 year range ...
Another excellent list. Thanks for Kennewick info.
On forms that ask for race, I choose “Native American”, if it is given as a choice, for the very reason you cited. In terms of blood lines, I am of Irish ancestry primarily.
Would appreciate a reference to the 200-250,000 year old sites.
Interesting how that tidbit of “information” was leaked. I won’t believe this until several unrelated studies have been done. The way this has been mishandled and the hyper-political-correctness that has affected scientific investigations related to this, the malfeasance, the destruction of a critical archeological site, and the involvement of political operatives in the Clinton Administration make me HIGHLY skeptical of any early conclusion that sides with the PC Left relating to Kennewick Man. Let’s wait and see.
Calico: A 200,000-year Old Site In The Americas? ASA On Line ^ | unknown
Posted on 12/17/2001 5:22:22 PM by blam
Calico: A 200,000-year old site in the Americas?
New World archaeological sites inferred to be even slightly older than the 11.5 ka Clovis complexes have been controversial; so claims for a 200 ka site in North America have heretofore been treated with substantial disdain. But the acceptance of Monte Verde and Diring may soon change that.
The classic "ancient site" in the New World is "Calico," located in the Central Mojave Desert of California (Shlemon and Budinger, 1990). Two issues have dogged acceptance of Calico by mainstream archaeologists: (1) the authenticity of the artifacts; are they truly the product of human manufacture, or merely naturally produced "geofacts?" and (2) the obvious pre-Clovis age of the deposits (see, for example, lengthy discussions in Leakey and others, 1968; Haynes, 1973; Bryan, 1978; Taylor and Payen, 1975; Carter, 1980; Meighen, 1983; Patterson, 1983; and Budinger and Simpson, 1985).
Thought to be about 200 ka old, the deeply buried chert and chalcedony tools of Calico are usually dismissed as being artifacts. However, if shown to respected Old World archaeologists, many Calico assemblages are readily described as typical Paleolithic implements. Regardless, when told that the ancient tools come from the New World, these same archaeologists then often reject their original interpretation! So much for unbiased reasoning in science! Nevertheless, although it will take time, the pre-Clovis Monte Verde site in Chile and the 260 ka Diring site in Siberia may well provide a "stepping stone" for mainstream archaeological acceptance of the Calico site.
Hopefully this will put a damper on the idea that Kennewick was a Euro, somehow I doubt that.
No not Calico, not in US. It was another site, maybe, in Mexico. The woman who found the site was hounded and eventually banned, I think, from ever going there again. Site exploration is now forbidden by the authorities. I think there was a mini-documentary either on TV or YouTube about the entire sad affair.
There was a particular local well-connected professor who did much to discredit her and her finds. There were too many people in the US whose ox would be severely gored were she correct. She had to leave the country without the bones she found, but trustingly gave them to the same local professor, who promptly lost them. There were casts made so all was not lost.
That’s most of what I remember.
Another excellent list. Thanks for Kennewick info.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.