Posted on 02/07/2004 12:10:42 PM PST by blam
Kennewick Man speaks
Kennewick Man has held onto his secrets for more than 9,000 years and now, finally, scientists will get a chance to be his voice.
This week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals pushed the truths resting within the bones at the Burke Museum closer to the light with its decision that scientists can study them. The appeals court affirmed a lower-court decision that the Interior Department erred in its decision to give the bones to the Native American tribes that claim them as those of an ancestor. The government might appeal to the Supreme Court.
But the 9th Circuit's ruling explicitly concludes there is no evidence of a genetic or cultural link between Kennewick Man and the modern-day tribes. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt ruled the remains found on federal property should be given to the tribes under the federal repatriation law because the bones predated Columbus' 1492 landing in North America. The tribes, who want to bury the remains, argued Kennewick Man was their ancestor because their oral histories contained no migration stories.
But eight prominent scientists sued for the right to study Kennewick Man and shed light on the peopling of the Americas. Limited studies concluded the remains more closely resemble modern-day people in Polynesia or the Ainu of Japan than they do Native Americans. Experts say they also resemble those of other ancient bones found elsewhere in the Americas far from the Columbia River Basin and, some believe, a set of 25,000-year-old bones in China.
The court's rejection of the pre-Columbian rule has implications for the study of other ancient remains, including those of Pan Era Woman, a set of 12,000-year-old remains found on federal property in Texas. Kennewick Man is holding the door open so other ancient remains aren't buried with their secrets.
The Native American Graves and Repatriation Act is a good law designed to return remains and artifacts to tribes with which actual connections can be established. But as science suggested and a federal judge and appeals court concluded Kennewick Man is in a different category.
He belongs to all of us.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
The Darwintern have noticed.
Did anyone else see the Discovery program on the WIndover Bog People? It was excellent.
Nope, don't have cable. Windover Bog people topics, via Google search:
European DNA Found In 7-8,000 Year Old Skeleton In Florida (Windover)
TLC ^ | 8-14-2003 | blam
Posted on 08/14/2003 7:40:03 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/964408/posts
Kennewick man renains not protected
KING5
Posted on 02/04/2004 12:12:38 PM PST by djf
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1071522/posts
This has to do with a whole lot more than money. The leftists in WA state abandoned global warming as their main excuse for environmental regulation, year ago. Instead they have settled on water regulation. He who controls the water, controls the people. You might wonder how a state with such a constant rainfall could be concerned about water. Well, the Indian treaties are the key. The treaties give the tribes as much water as they need. They now claim that they need it ALL to preserve the precious salmon. They are now claiming that unless a property owner, outside of the cities have a written deed to water rights from the state that predates the Indian treaties, you have no rights. Furthermore, you don’t even have a right to the rainwater, because if that water was allowed to run off of your property, it would not be yours.
The leftists in my county have gone so far as to down zone existing businesses in unincorporated areas, claiming that they are preserving the rural atmosphere, even though the property lies between an international freeway and the railroad tracks. It turns out that the local tribe wants to develop a similar project closer to the city.
· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe · |
|||
Antiquity Journal & archive Archaeologica Archaeology Archaeology Channel BAR Bronze Age Forum Discovery Dogpile Eurekalert LiveScience Mirabilis.ca Nat Geographic PhysOrg Science Daily Science News Texas AM Yahoo Excerpt, or Link only? |
|
||
· Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword · |
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.