Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton

Douglas W. Owsley · Richard L. Jantz

sept 2014 · Texas A&M University Press

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Almost from the day of its accidental discovery along the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State in July 1996, the ancient skeleton of Kennewick Man has garnered significant attention from scientific and Native American communities as well as public media outlets. This volume represents a collaboration among physical and forensic anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists, and geochemists, among others, and presents the results of the scientific study of this remarkable find. Scholars address a range of topics, from basic aspects of osteological analysis to advanced ?research focused on Kennewick Man’s origins and his relationships to other populations. Interdisciplinary studies, comprehensive data collection and preservation, and applications of technology are all critical to telling Kennewick Man’s story.

Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton is written for a discerning professional audience, yet the absorbing story of the remains, their discovery, their curation history, and the extensive amount of detail that skilled scientists have been able to glean from them will appeal to interested and informed general readers. These bones lay silent for nearly nine thousand years, but now, with the aid of dedicated researchers, they can speak about the life of one of the earliest human occupants of North America.

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DOUGLAS W. OWSLEY is the division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. He has identified remains from news-making crime scenes, mass disasters, and war zones. In addition to forensic casework, he is conducting extensive research on historic and prehistoric populations from North America. RICHARD L. JANTZ is professor emeritus in the department of anthropology and director emeritus of the forensic anthropology center at the University of Tennessee. His primary research focus is metric variation among modern humans.