Peopling of the Americas Publications: Kennewick Man : The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton  by Richard L. Jantz (2014, Hardcover) for sale online | eBay (2024)

FAQs

What is the DNA of Kennewick Man? ›

Technology for analyzing ancient DNA had been improving since 1996, and in June 2015 scientists at the University of Copenhagen announced that Kennewick Man is a genetic ancestor of Native Americans, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the region where the bones were found.

The Ancient One, Kennewick Man | Burke Museum.

Carbon dating determined that the bones were roughly 9,000 years old. The discovery attracted attention immediately when the remains were initially declared to be Caucasoid based on skull measurements.

A Blackfoot man from Montana was found to have the earliest proof of ancestors in the Americas, which came from Arizona around 17,000 years ago. His tests prove (99% accuracy) his ancestors came from the Pacific to South America, before migrating to South-west North America around 15,000 B.C.E.

Kennewick Man is one of the oldest and most complete skeletons discovered in North America. The recovery of the remains, and subsequent analyses, led to a controversial debate over who controls the human remains among the federal government, Native American Tribes, and scientists.

Instead of repatriation, additional studies of the remains were permitted². Subsequent craniometric analysis affirmed Kennewick Man to be more closely related to circumpacific groups such as the Ainu and Polynesians than he is to modern Native Americans².

Kennewick Man, as he is known, quickly became the subject of a custody battle between scientists eager to study his remains, which are among the oldest and most complete of a human ancestor in North America, and a group of five Native American tribes who claimed the bones as the Ancient One, one of their own forebears.

The discovery, known as Kennewick Man, launched a lengthy legal dispute between scientists and Native Americans over the origins of the remains and what to do with them. The 20-year saga came to an end over the weekend when the 9,000-year-old skeleton was brought home and laid to rest.

Willerslev and his colleagues found in a 12,600-year-old skeleton in Montana known as the Anzick child. This analysis clearly established that Kennewick Man's DNA is Native American. But the result is at odds with the shape of his skull, which seemed to be very different from living Native Americans.

3) Kennewick Man was an eater of sea mammals—seals and sea lions—and lived most of his life along the northern northwest coast of North America (Owsley and Jantz, 2014b).

What are some fun facts about Kennewick Man? ›

Kennewick Man is the name generally given to the skeletal remains of a prehistoric Paleoamerican man found on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, United States, on July 28, 1996. It is one of the most complete ancient skeletons ever found.

In June 2015, genetic scientists at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark determined through DNA extracted from his bone marrow that Kennewick Man was, in fact, related to modern Native Americans, including members of the Colville tribe from the region in which his bones were found.

NATIVE GUY DNA from 8,500-year-old Kennewick Man's skeleton indicates that he shared ancestry with modern Native Americans and perhaps was closely related to Northwest tribes that want to rebury his bones.