Kennewick Man or Richland Man

"Richland Man' is the common term used to describe the human skeletal remains discovered in or about July 1996, near or in the bed of the Columbia River near Richland, Washington. Richland Man has been the subject of radiocarbon dating and is believed to be over 9,000 years old."

"Around eleven thousand years ago, adventurous human beings began trekking across the Bering land bridge into what is now Alaska, on their way southward in a migration that would eventually populate all of America. The common assumption is that all of these peoples were the Asian ancestors of today's Native Americans."

"There is now a sizable body of evidence indicating that this may not be true. A number of very old skeletons desplay [sic] strong Caucasian traits, to the point that anthropologists are now talking in terms of not only "proto-Indians" but also of "proto-Americans" and even "Proto-Caucasians" who had a role in the populating of America. It is now thought possible that European-type groups could, in fact, have also made that long walk across what is now the Bering Strait."

"The much-disputed bones, carbon-dated at about 9,200 years old, appear to have been deposited below the ash layer scientists believe came from an eruption of Mount Mazama, site of the modern Crater Lake in Southwestern Oregon."-[Copyright 1997 Tri-City Herald]-

"The discovery of a human ancestor variously referred to as Kennewick or Richland Man has shed light on the complexity of human immigration to the western hemisphere and ignited a controversy that may affect the future of paleoanthropology in the United States."

Recently, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit cheerily agreed to let five American Indian tribes have the remains of the Kennewick Man, so they can bury these remains in a proper Indian ritual.

The problem is that the Kennewick Man was probably a white guy and not an Indian. His skull isn't an Indian skull at all, but is the kind of skull that white people have. Why's that a problem? Because he was hanging around in America 9,000 years ago; long before any evil white people were supposed to have been here. The remains were found near the Columbia River in Washington state, and apparently there weren't even any Indians around there until about 3,000 years ago." -[ H. Millard (c) 2000]-

In the summer of 1996 a human burial, believed to be about 9,000 years old, was discovered near Columbia Park in Kennewick, Washington. Scientists and others want to study this individual. They believe that he should be further desecrated for the sake of science, and for their own personal gain. The people of my tribe, and four other affected tribes, strongly believe that the individual must be re-buried as soon as possible.

Kennewick Man was about 5 feet 9 inches tall, and had a robust, muscular build. At the time of his death, he was between 30 and 50 years of age and had survived a projectile point wound in his right hip that probably made walking difficult. His area of Eastern Washington was cooler and wetter 8,400 years ago than today, with grasslands and scattered pine forests covering the land. Ancient large bison, elk, deer, fish, freshwater shellfish, and plants were important sources of food. In the 1960s and 1970s, other human remains dating to 10,000 years ago were found just north of Kennewick with knives, spear blades, drills, spear-thrower parts, and other tools, as well as shell jewelry. -[Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, Seattle]-

The Department of the Interior today released results of radiocarbon dating on the bones, placing their age at between 9,320 and 9,510 years old. The department also said the remains should be classified as Native American under federal law.

Three laboratories were selected by the government to conduct the tests: Beta Analytical in Miami, the University of California at Riverside and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

How to classify ancient remains and who should have custody of such bones is hotly debated these days among researchers, politicians and Indian tribes....."

"The remains of one of the oldest North Americans ever found have been recovered in Washington state. The 9,300-year old skeleton is 90% complete and belongs to a Caucasian male about five foot ten inches tall. Described as one of the most complete skeletons ever unearthed in the Americas it was discovered near Kennewick, Washington in July of 1996 and dubbed "Kennewick Man." Now it is the subject of a court battle between anthropologists who desire to learn all they can about it, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which wants to cover it up, both literally and figuratively. The Corps wishes to turn this remarkable find over to American Indian tribes who want it reburied without further study based on the claim that the skeleton is an "Indian" and therefore should not be studied."

"The present non-Caucasian Indians in that region are believed to have been there less than a thousand years, which makes them the invaders and Kennewick man and his people the "native Americans" of the Northwest, for whatever that is worth....." -[by Louis Beam]-

     

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