Kennewick Man: An Ethical Dilemma By Vincent Pelosi
Kennewick Man has started and added to an immense saga about the ethics involved in excavating and studying the remains of other that passed away long and not so long ago. Kennewick man being one of the hottest topics of the media during the mid-nineties has proved to be one of the most trying ethical dilemmas of our time. An ethical dilemma as described by Kelley Ross Ph. D is a “conflict between the rightness or wrongness of the actions and the goodness or badness of the consequences of those actions” (www.friesien.com). In the case of the Kennewick man the coalition of the tribes are trying to do what is best for their culture and belief by having the Kennewick man buried and the scientists who want to study this strange humanoid that has shown up on the banks of the Columbia River and are acting how they believe this should be handled, with careful study and the need to find the knowledge that this skeleton can provide about America nine millennia ago; and here is the problem that has been floating around this case for little over a decade.
Both parties the Coalition of the tribes and NAGPRA and the scientists believe that they are doing the right thing by this discovery. In this paper I will introduce the Kennewick case and discuss the parties and their personal views that have made this such an important case along with thought of my own to add to the criticisms of the professionals that were involved.
The Kennewick man was a monumental find to further our understanding of the history of the migration patterns of the people that culture sees today. The Kennewick man being a 9200 to 9600 year old skeleton made him one of the oldest nearly whole skeletons found in North or South America. The Kennewick man was found on July 28th 1996 by two college students whose names were Will Thomas and Dave Deacy while they were walking along the Columbia River near Kennewick Washington trying to get a better view into the local hydroplane races (Chatters, 23). These college students stumbled upon something that has caused a series of serious debates that have lasted for over ten years. After the students fell upon “the rock with teeth” (Powell 2005:6) they took it to the local police forces that were in the area.
In January 2005, contractors were excavating blocks of pavement to place electricity cables right at the corner of Ocean Street and Octavia Street, Narrabeen, NSW. The project was suspended due to an unanticipated discovery of a human skeleton buried underground, right beside a public bus shelter. The bones were in good state although some parts were missing. Fragments of primitive artefacts were also found around and inside the skeleton.
Humanity became fascinated with the idea of evolution with the work of Charles Darwin and the Scientific Revolution. People began hunting for fossils that would prove that man had an ape derived ancestry (Weiner, 1955). After various years of searching, a piece of physical evidence was found in England that was said to confirm the theory of evolution (Weiner, 1955).This confirmation came from Charles Dawson’s discoveries from 1908, that were announced publicly in 1912 (Thackeray, 2011). Dawson was believed to have found the fossil remains of the “missing link” between ape and human evolution, the reconstructed skull of Piltdown man (Augustine, 2006). The material was found in stratigraphical evidence and animal remains that were, at the time, adequate enough to confirm the antiquity of the remains (Weiner, 1955). In 1915, another specimen, Piltdown man II, was found further proving this theory (Augustine, 2006). However, this was merely a hoax proven by fluorine relative dating in 1953; the artifacts and bone fragments discovered turned out to be altered to fit the proposed scenario (Augustine, 2006). The skull found was actually composed of a human braincase that was younger than the complimentary orangutan lower jaw (Falk, 2011). Both sections of the skull had been stained to appear to be from the same person of the same age (Falk, 2011).The perpetrator of this act was never caught and there are many theories proposed for the motive of this hoax (Augustine, 2006). Many people have been taken into consideration for this crime, such as Chardin, Woodward, Hinton, and Dawson (Augustine, 2006). Nevertheless, the evidence that proves that Dawson is guilty of this crime against anthropology is quite substantial compared to the evidence...
Fishing and hunting have been at the core of many American Indian cultures like the Nisqually since precontact. Indian hunting, fishing and gathering were conducted then—as they are now—not for sport, but for food and for a livelihood. This was well understood by the early colonists and later by the U.S. government. Thus, many of the treaties (e.g., Medicine Creek, 1854) negotiated between the federal government and Indian tribes in the nineteenth century contained provisions guaranteeing rights to hunt and fish. In the trea¬ty negotiated by Isaac Stevens, the tribe ceded to the U.S. some of the Nisqually vil¬lages and prairies, but Article Three reserved the tribe’s right to fish “at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations…in common with all citizens of the Territory.” (FL 12) But the growth of the European American population, and with it the proliferation of fenced lands, the destruction of natural habitat, and often the destruction of wildlife itself, drastically curtailed the Indians' ability to carry on these activities. Charles Wilkinson’s thesis declares that the “messages from Frank’s Landing” are “messages about ourselves, about the natural world, about societies past, about this society, and about societies to come.” (FL 6)
The show portrays that forensic anthropologists are responsible for almost every aspect of the death investigation, which does not correctly depict the role of forensic anthropologists (Wood,2017a). The method of which components of the biological profile, like sex of the remains, is also incorrectly portrayed as Dr. Brennan estimated the sex using a trait that does not accurately indicate sexual dimorphism (Wood, 2017c). Lastly, the complexity of personal identification, which is one of the most important aspects of forensic anthropology casework (Krishan et al, 2016), is not portrayed correctly as Dr. Brennan and her team based the identification of the remains on one trait that has questionable reliability (Charles & Levisetti, 2011). All in all, ‘The feet on the beach’ episode of ‘Bones’ does not accurately portray the forensic anthropology as it is romanticized for entertainment and overly simplified for a lay person to
“Skeletons in the Closet”, written by Clara Spotted Elk, is a well-built argument, but it can be enhanced to become immensely effective. Firstly, Elk’s position is effective in obtaining her purpose and connecting her audience to it, because she includes a broad scope and background of the problem in the first few paragraphs. She describes the amount of Indian skeletons preserved and contained by American museums, through the use of data and statistics. For instance, Elk states: “we found that 18,500 Indian remains…are unceremoniously stored in the Smithsonian’s nooks and crannies” (13-15). By using this data, the background of the argument is illustrated to assist the audience in understanding her argument. Now, by knowing this statistic, readers can connect with Elk and her assertion, since we realize that there are plenty of skeletons that
-New Evidence Puts Man in North America 50,000 Years Ago. Sciencedaily. 2004. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041118104010.htm
middle of paper ... ... I firmly believe that the betterment of one group of people is not worth the destruction of another. Works Cited Anderson, William L. Cherokee removal before and after. Athens: University of Georgia, 1991.
Ironically the burial ground’s discovery came from a land of no significance to prime, for an intended thirty-four-story federal office building. An environmental impact statement set off archeological test excavations, by producing an 18th century map delivering necessity to substantiate or disprove survival of a “Negro’s Burial Ground” (Kutz 1994).
The Arctic is an area above the imaginary line of the Arctic Circle, which is latitude 66.6° north (Smith, 2009). This is a hostile and unforgiving place, with freezing temperatures and 24 hours of darkness in winter (Smith, 2009). Nevertheless, one particular place of interest is Devon Island, which has many seasonal hunting grounds such as Cape Liddon – see exhibit one. Although Devon Island is uninhabited today, past settlers survived harsh conditions by exploiting coastal and inland resources for thousands of years. Interestingly, between 1982 and 1987, archaeologists found 163 sites on the island (Helmer, 1991). These sites contained thousands of animal bones, various stone and bone tools dating back 4500 years (Helmer, 1991). Coincidently, the multipurpose ulu knife – see exhibit two – originates from the similar time period, which is traditionally used for processing animals for food and clothes (Crowell & Prusinski, n.d.). Also, it is believed that indigenous people created carvings such as small face masks, for interacting with spirits (Zságer, 2010). Funnily enough, a modern day mask – see in exhibit three – looks similar to a 3500 year old ivory face mask found on Devon Island (CMCC, 2013). Nonetheless, today some people call this traditional ecological knowledge, which refers to knowledge, beliefs and practices, in sustainable use of ...
2. Brothwell, Don R., (1963) Digging up Bones, the Excavation, Treatment and Study of Human Skeletal Remain’s. London British Museum of Natural History.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding human remains and the field of archaeology for some time. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) protect the Native American’s rights over their human remains and cultural items. Proposed by the Morris Udall, former Congress Member for Arizona second District, NAGPRA was passed by the Congress in November 1990. The congress’ intention was to facilitate the repatriation of the Native Americans skeleton and cultural remains that were held in museums and federal agencies. In compliance with the Act, anthropologists returned several skeletal remains that were conserved in their study laboratories and museums to the respective Native tribes. In 1998, for example, the University of Nebraska repatriated over 1702 cultural artifacts to the affiliated Native Americans (Niesel 1). This was a significant blow to the scientific and anthropology studies as it marked the loss of necessary resources in unraveling the development of the human being.
In order to understand the lack of morality on the part of the United States, the actions taken by the group in favor of removing the Indians and their opponents needs examining. The seeds of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 are rooted in colonial times and continued to grow during the early years of the American republic. To comprehend this momentous tragedy we must first examine the historical background of the Indian '"'problem'"' and seek rationale for the American government"'"s actions. This includes looking at the men who politically justified the expulsion of the Cherokee nation and those who argued against it.
Several dozen European-style stone tools, dating back between 19,000 and 26,000 years, have been discovered at six locations along the U. S. East Coast. What’s more, chemical analysis carried out on a 19,000 year old stone knife found in Virginia, USA revealed that it ...
Throughout the 150 year history of Bigfoot many concerns have raised, the most in number have been from Native Americans. The Karok Indians tell of an “upslope person” who lurks far up in the mountains (Gaffron, 22-24). Some medicine men have told stories of “snow-walkers” that haunt the Forrest depths (Short). The creatures North American habitat covers over 125,000 square miles of forest, contained in the states of Oregon, Washington, and California, constituting a large number of Native American tribes to encounter and frighten (Gaffron, 22). This phenomenon is not just a Native American one told by medicine men, and tribe leaders, Bigfoot plays an enormous role in the ancient folklore of such civilizations as, the Russians, Greeks, and Anglo-Saxons (Brunvand). These civilizations have been around for hundreds of years, and have been telling stories of Bigfoot long before any one; they hold the true key to Bigfoot’s history.
Forbes, J. (1998). Kennewick Man: A Legal Historical Analysis. Retrieved from University of California Department of Native American Studies: http://nas.ucdavis.edu/Forbes/kennwick.html