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[article provided by Lona. Thanks!]
Researchers To Try To Extract Dna From Kennewick Man
AP 02/25/2000
By Nicholas K. Geranios
SPOKANE, Washington (AP) _ Researchers will try to extract DNA from
the
bones of Kennewick Man in an effort to learn the racial ancestry of
the
9,000-year-old remains.
The U.S. Department of the Interior last month classified the bones
as
Native American. But the DNA tests may help conclusively bury theories
that
the bones are of European or African ancestry, said Francis McManamon,
chief
archaeologist for the National Park Service.
The DNA tests may also show whether Kennewick Man is an ancestor of
any
modern Indian tribes, he said.
"We believe that DNA analysis will help determine the biological and
genetic
racial ancestry of the remains," McManamon said. "It will be useful
for
cultural affiliation purposes if we can obtain accurate mitochondrial
DNA
analysis."
Some DNA data found in Indians is not found in people of European or
African
ancestry, McManamon said.
But representatives of the Umatilla Indians in northern Oregon, who
claim
the bones as an ancestor and want them reburied immediately, are outraged
by
the proposed tests.
"These studies are not being done to prove cultural affiliation," said
Jeff
Van Pelt, cultural resources manager for the Confederated Tribes of
the
Umatilla Reservation. "They are being done to appease the scientists
and the
court."
Umatilla trustee Armand Minthorn said science was ill-served by DNA tests.
"There is overwhelming scientific evidence that indicates DNA testing
can
prove nothing more than what they already know, that the remains are
Native
American," he said.
U.S. Magistrate John Jelderks of Portland, Oregon, said last year that
any
decision on Kennewick Man without DNA tests would be suspect.
Scientists suing for the right to study the bones have long pushed for
DNA
testing.
McManamon warned, however, that the low level of human bone collagen
detected in the remains means there are "no guarantees of a conclusive
outcome." The bones may have been contaminated by modern DNA present
in the
environment, he said.
Since shortly after the bones were found in the shallows of the Columbia
River in 1996, five Northwest tribes have claimed Kennewick Man as
an
ancestor and insisted the remains be reburied without study.
The 380 bones and skeletal fragments are among the oldest and most complete
skeletons found in North America.
Last month the Interior Department released results of radiocarbon-dating
on
the bones that placed their age at between 9,320 and 9,510 years old.
Typically, the government has classified bones over 500 years old as
Native
American, citing the 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection
and
Repatriation Act.
Eight prominent anthropologists have sued the government for the right
to
study the bones. The anthropologists have been pressing in court for
DNA
testing as the most effective means of determining Kennewick Man's
origins.
Jelderks had given the government until March 24 to decide whether it
will
give the anthropologists access to the bones. But the Interior Department
recently asked Jelderks for a six-month extension of that deadline
so
researchers can complete the DNA process.
"The request should be denied," Alan Schneider and Paula Barran, lawyers
for
the anthropologists, said in court documents.
They said the government should have done DNA testing years ago.
Minthorn, the Umatilla tribal leader, said the legal fight over Kennewick
Man has huge implications.
"What is at issue in this case is not just our desire to protect one
ancestor," Minthorn said, "but how this case will be applied to every
other
Native American skeleton found in the United States."
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