And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Another report from a different source... Testing begins on region's oldest, most complete skeleton By AUDRA ANG The Associated Press 02/26/99 2:32 AM Eastern SEATTLE (AP) -- A panel of scientists has begun examining Kennewick Man, whose skeletal remains now rest in 28 custom-made cardboard boxes after being discovered on the silty banks of the Columbia River. Using noninvasive tests, the national team of anthropologists and archaeologists will try to determine the ancestry of the brittle 9,300-year-old bones, considered the oldest and most complete human skeleton found in the Northwest and one of the oldest in North America. "Today really does mark an important achievement, the reaching of an important milestone, as we begin to establish a scientific baseline for answering some of the questions that relate to these remains," team leader Dr. Francis McManamon, chief archaeologist for the National Park Service, said Thursday. Working out of the Burke Museum here, the six-member panel will first focus on whether the bones are of Indian origin as defined by the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, McManamon said. If they are, the Department of the Interior, which is handling the study, will then decide if there is a modern day tribe to which the remains ought to be given. The skeleton, which contains all major bones except the sternum, was found dispersed over a 300-square-yard area in Kennewick's Columbia Park in July 1996. Since the discovery, five Northwest tribes have claimed the remains as an ancestor and wish to rebury the bones. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which took custody of the bones from the Benton County sheriff's office, had planned to turn them over to tribal representatives under the repatriation act. A group of prominent scientists later sued in federal court in Portland, Ore., for the right to further study Kennewick Man because he reportedly has non-Indian features. A small California group called the Asatru Folk Assembly, practicing a Viking-era pagan religion, also has sought access to the bones but is not opposed to the study of the remains. More than 350 pieces of tan-colored bone are housed in the bowels of the Burke Museum. [Sounds painful. Martha.] They are stored in hand-crafted, acid-free cardboard boxes of varying sizes. Each bone -- some as small as half a dime -- rests in a foam cutout in the box. At least 80 percent of the skeleton was found, said Dr. Michael Trimble, the head curator for the Corps of Engineers. "If you can get 80 percent of any skeleton in any archaeological finding, it's good," Trimble said. According to him, the bones were filled with water and held together with sediment when they were found. The panel over five days will analyze those soil samples to see if they can find any links to dated soil layers in the terrace near the discovery site. Additionally, they will measure the shape and width of the skeleton's face, its dental remains and a stone point embedded in the pelvic bone, said team member Dr. Joseph Powell, a physical anthropologist from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The scientists will observe any inflammation, trauma or toxins that could be indications of health and way of life of the Kennewick Man, who is believed to have been in his 40s or 50s when he died. If initial description and analysis are not sufficient to make a reasonable determination of whether the remains are Indian, the team may have to resort to radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis or other tests that could destroy small amounts of bone. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We welcome your feedback. �1999 Oregon Live LLC http://flash.oregonlive.com/cgi-bin/or_nview.pl?/home1/wire/AP/Stream-Pa rsed/OREGON_NEWS/o1884_PM_WA--KennewickMan &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
