The following reprinted articles and references provide additional information on the government's research, latest findings, and further readings that provide varied perspectives on many of the issues raised in the exhibit, Kennewick Man on Trial.

September 1999

Small Bone Samples from Kennewick Man to be Sent to Labs for Radiocarbon Dating
US Department of the Interior News Release, Office of the Secretary, September 8, 1999

The Department of the Interior today is overseeing the extraction of two small pieces of bone from the set of human skeletal remains known as Kennewick Man. The bones are currently stored in a secure area at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington. Two approximately ten gram samples, taken from different bones, will be divided in half and sent to laboratories for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry testing. The testing is likely to result in independent radiocarbon dates that can be compared and used to indicate the exact chronological age of the human remains. The testing will take place over the next six weeks.

Dr. Francis P. McManamon, Chief Archaeologist for the Department of the Interior, announced in July that radiocarbon dating, which involves the destruction of small amounts of bone, would be necessary in order to answer the question of whether Kennewick Man is to be considered Native American for the purposes of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA).

If the remains are found to be older than the earliest documented arrival of Europeans in the Pacific Northwest, they will be considered Native American for the purposes of NAGPRA. An announcement on whether or not Kennewick Man is to be considered Native American is likely to be made in November.

The bone samples are being hand-carried to several Carbon 14 (C14) laboratories including: Beta Analytical in Miami, Florida; National Science Foundation - Arizona Accelerated Mass Spectrometry Facility in Tucson, Arizona; and to the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the University of California, Riverside, California. By prior agreement, any bone residue remaining from the testing procedures will be returned to the collection at the Burke Museum.

The bone extraction procedures are being carried out by a team of experts from the Department of the Interior, the Corps of Engineers and independent scientists. Assisting Dr. McManamon are Dr. Michael K. Trimble, Chief Curator for the Army Corps of Engineers; Dr. Vicky Cassman, conservator for the University of Nevada - Las Vegas, who served as conservator for the scientific team during initial examinations at the Burke in February; and Kathy Taylor, a local forensic anthropologist.

If Kennewick Man is determined to be Native American under NAGPRA, the Department of the Interior will begin the process of answering a second and more complex question of whether Kennewick Man is culturally affiliated or can be determined to have a "shared group identity" with any modern-day Indian tribe or tribes. The Department will prepare a protocol that would include the collection and analysis of relevant archaeological, geographical, cultural and biological data from the region as well as documented history and oral traditions of the five tribes that are present-day and historic inhabitants of the area around the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

"The chronological date of these remains is fundamental to all future actions the Department will take," Dr. McManamon said. "We now have excellent data from the skeletal measurements and the analysis done on Kennewick Man by the scientific team, as well as on the sediments and the lithic object encased in his hip. In this case, however, there was no burial site since the more than 380 bones were found underwater in the Columbia River. This is an unusual situation and requires thorough, deliberate and careful study."

"We recognize and sincerely regret that destruction of any amount of bone is offensive to some religious and traditional tribal beliefs," McManamon continued. "However, to reasonably answer the question of whether Kennewick Man is Native American for the purposes of NAGPRA, and to undertake any further studies if he is, it is vitally important to know whether these bones are 80 years old or 800 years old or 8,000 years old."

May 1999

GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH

reprinted with permission of the author from the Anthropology Newsletter, May 1999, published by the American Anthropological Association, Arlington, VA

Between February 25 and March 1, 1999, a team of physical anthropologists, archeologists, curators and conservators conducted an initial detailed examination of human remains from Kennewick, Washington. The remains, known as Kennewick Man, have been the subject of anthropological, cultural and legal controversies almost since their discovery July 1996.

The remains were found scattered over an approximately 300 square foot area in the Columbia River, near the bank of a dammed lake-like section under the management of the US Army Crops of Engineers (COE) in Kennewick, Washington. A series of legal actions brought about an inter-agency agreement, assigning the Department of the Interior (DOI) to undertake the scientific evaluations necessary to determine whether the remains are Native American under the legal definition of the Native American Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA), and, if so, whether the remains are culturally affiliated with any present day Indian tribe or tribes that could be involved in the ultimate disposition of the bones.

THE MEDICAL TEAM
To answer these complex questions, the remains were brought to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle in October 1998. Beginning on February 25, 1999, the remains were examined for five days by an expert team of anthropologists temporarily hired by the National Park Service (NPS). The team, under the direction of Francis P. McManamon (NPS), included: Joseph Powell (University of New Mexico), Jerry Rose (University of Arkansas), Julie Stein (University of Washington), Gary Huckleberry (Washington State University) and John Fagan (President, Archaeological Investigations, Inc., Portland, Oregon). Their work was overseen by professional conservators Vicki Cassman (University of Nevada-Las Vegas) and Nancy Odegaard (University of Arizona), under the direction of chief curator for the US Army Corps, Michael Trimble. The University of Washington Medical Center generously provided time and equipment for x-rays and CAT-scans of some of the skeletal remains.

The first phase of detailed examination, measurement, observation and recording did not involve description of any of the more than 380 bones and bone fragments. After assessing the data and reports produced by the examining team, DOI will determine whether non-destructive tests alone are sufficient to determine the age of the remains. If not, additional testing might be necessary. Any testing that involves destruction of small amounts of bone, such as radio carbon dating or DNA testing, will not proceed until further consultations are completed with the five tribes presently and historically inhabiting the area where the remains were found.

Prior to these examinations, consultations took place involving the Confederated Tribes of the Colville, Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, Wanapum Band, and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation. Following the nondestructive analysis, we will provide another opportunity for consultations with tribal representatives to discuss the results of the first stage and any subsequent investigations needed to resolve remaining issues. The tribes were provided an opportunity to have someone to serve as an observer of the examination. This courtesy also was extended to scientific plaintiffs in a lawsuit involving the examination and repatriation of the remains.

ANALYSIS HEAD TO TOE
Geomorphologic and sedimentological investigations of the river terrace- from which the remains are thought to have eroded- were completed in December 1997, by the COE Waterways Experiment Station (WES) under the direction of Lillian Wakeley. This study is described in a 1998 WES technical report. These investigations, with a parallel investigation headed by Huckleberry, have established that the river terrace contains a soil layer sufficiently old to have contained remains dated to 9000 years ago. The date is important because a single C14 date of approximately 8500 BP (UCR3476/CAMS-29578) was obtained on a small sample of bone prior to any detailed examination and their acquisition by the Crops of Engineers. Soil analysis of this layer provided background information for careful investigation of any soil fragments that can be found adhering to the remains.

Investigation of the skeletal remains involved compiling a complete inventory, and recording both metric and non-metric data. Physical examination of the remains and verification and correction of the detailed inventory were conducted by Trimble and Douglas Owsley (Smithsonian) in October 1998, immediately prior to transferring the remains to the Burke Museum. Powell and Rose confirmed that the remains were those of a single individual, an important fact to establish given the extremely disturbed context within which the remains were found.

Powell and Rose's metric recordings of dental and skeletal elements will be compared with existing databases of Native American skeletal characteristics to determine the extent to which the physical characteristics of the Kennewick remains resemble those of recorded Native American skeletal populations. Although the outcome of these comparisons will not be definitive, they will provide a non-destructive means of gathering evidence about whether the remains can reasonably be determined to be Native American. Moreover, because it is important to consider which Native American populations should be used for comparisons, characteristics of several Native American skeletal populations are being utilized.

Non-metric dental and skeletal characteristics are also useful for determining whether these are the remains of an individual of Native American descent. Observations or inflammation, trauma, toxins, dental wear and caries, and other stressors will help form an idea of the health and way of life of the individual, the results of which will be compared with what is currently known about patterns among ancient Native American populations.

Another component of the recent scientific examination was the analysis of soil sediments from the skeletal remains. A series of radiocarbon dates and related chronological data have been obtained for the soil horizons along the edge of the river terrace immediately adjacent to the discovery site by the WES study. Samples of the adhering sediments were collected carefully by Huckleberry and Stein for comparison with sediment samples from the profile of the river terrace. A variety of tests are being conducted to detect links between the skeletal sediment and the terrace soil horizon.

The final major component of the scientific investigation of the Kennewick remains focuses on the lithic object lodged in one of the pelvic bones. Probably a projectile point, the object was analyzed in place by Fagan, an expert in lithic artifacts and materials of the region. Fagan is analyzing the lithic material and formal point type. With Powell and Rose, he is considering how the object came to be lodged in the pelvis, bone growth around it and implications for the individualÉs health. He also hopes to estimate the chronological period in which the lithic object was manufactured and used.

DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS
When DOI determines whether the remains are subject to NAGPRA, the data and reports of the scientific team will be available to the public. If the remains are subject to NAGPRA, DOI, as part of its agreement with COE, will develop a process to determine whether the remains are culturally affiliated with any modern tribe or tribes to which they should be repatriated under the law. By using scientific methods, techniques and interpretations as part of its efforts to resolve this difficult case, the Interior Department hopes to demonstrate that NAGPRA is flexible enough to allow good science to go forward at the same time respecting the dignity and recognizing the importance of traditional tribal beliefs.

As defined in NAGPRA, "Native American" refers to human remains and cultural items relating to tribes, peoples or cultures that resided within the area now encompassed by the US prior to the historically documented arrival of European explorers. NAGPRA does not seek to define when a particular group may have begun to reside in this area, nor whether these groups were culturally affiliated or biologically related to present-day Indian tribes. If this set of remains is found to fit within the category of "Native American," cultural affiliation and any biological relationships that can be determined will be highly relevant to how disposition of the remains should be determined.

Within the legal context of NAGPRA, "cultural affiliation" means that there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically between a present day Indian tribe and an identifiable earlier individual or group. If the remains are determined to be Native American, as defined by the law, a variety of geographic, kinship, biological, archaeological, linguistic, folklore, oral tradition and historical information will be collected from the five interested tribes before any determination can be reasonably made. Investigation of cultural affiliation will require a variety of studies.

If the remains prove to be as ancient as suggested by the single initial radiocarbon date, it is not likely than any relationship of lineal descent, as defined by NAGPRA, can be made. A careful legal analysis of the judicial decisions by the Indian Land Claims Commission and the Court of Claims shows that the land where the remains were discovered has not been judicially determined to be the exclusive aboriginal territory of any modern Indian tribe. Because it is recognized that the Kennewick area was used by many tribes and bands, no single tribe has exclusive use or occupancy.

[Francis P. McManamon is Chief Archeologist of the National Park Service and Departmental Consulting Archeologist of the Department of the Interior.]