Unlocked: remains that hold key to origins of first Americans [View All]

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Unlocked: remains that hold key to origins of first Americans
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 08 July 2005

Nine years after the 9,300-year-old remains of so-called Kennewick Man were discovered partly buried near a stream, scientists have finally begun studying one of the oldest and most complete skeletons found in North America. Some experts believe it could yield important clues about the origin of the original pop-ulation of the Americas.

The remains had been locked away since their accidental discovery by students in Washington state in 1996 because of a legal dispute over who should have access. Native American tribes had said the bones should be reburied without scientific examination, claiming such scrutiny would be desecration.

In February 2004, a panel of judges ruled in favour of eight scientists who filed a lawsuit seeking the right to study the remains and said there was no link between the remains and five Native American tribes who opposed the research. Scientists have already taken scans of the pelvis and skull and a dozen experts have converged in Seattle to begin 10 days of further, more comprehensive study.

After that, the remains will be returned to the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land along the Columbia River in Washington where they were found. They will then be returned to the University of Washington's Burke Museum, where they have been held in a vault that requires two keys to open.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article297634.ece