The Kennewick Man: The Ancient One

In 1996, ancient human remains discovered along the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington sparked one of the most controversial archaeological cases in U.S. history. Scientists argued the 9,000-year-old skeleton could rewrite theories about the first Americans, while Native American tribes insisted the Ancient One was their ancestor and should be returned for burial. What followed was decades of legal battles, scientific study, and debate over whether science or tribal oral tradition should decide the fate of the remains. In 2017, DNA evidence confirmed the Ancient One’s connection to modern Native American tribes, and he was finally returned and respectfully reburied according to tribal tradition.

References 

Bragg, L. E. Washington Myths and Legends. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2017.

Chatters, J. C. Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. “Kennewick Man / The Ancient One.” University of Washington.

U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bonnichsen v. United States, 367 F.3d 864 (9th Cir. 2004).

National Park Service. “Kennewick Man.” U.S. Department of the Interior.

Rasmussen, M., et al. “The Ancestry and Affiliations of Kennewick Man.” Nature, vol. 523, no. 7561, 2015, pp. 455–458.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “Kennewick Man: Science and Controversy.”