February 24, 2006
I guess this means he didn't bury himself

AP headline: "Kennewick Man buried by others, scientist finds"

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at February 24, 2006 12:46 PM | Email This
Comments
1. What would we do without others?

Posted by: Timothy on February 24, 2006 12:50 PM
2. Others?!?

Friggin Lost was a repeat this week dammit.

Posted by: Palouse on February 24, 2006 12:51 PM
3. The Kennewick man case has always been fascinating to me and I'm glad that scientists are actually able to study him.
It has been theorized for around 100 years that there were several waves of migration over the Bering Strait landbridge and that the local "Native American" populations are actually relatively newcomers to the area.
The fact that this theory is coming to be proven accurate is very exciting for an amatuer historian like myself.
The pity of it is that the whole Kennewick man saga was politicized to begin with in the 1990's (Thank you weak-kneed Clinton appointees).
Mark one up for science and reason and put a big fat zero in the column of superstition and political correctness.

Posted by: Reporterward on February 24, 2006 01:39 PM
4. Oh...My bad.
We weren't carping about the poorly written, ambiguous headline that some pressured PI copy-editor scabbled together were we?
I missed that part. I thought it was only Seattle Times copy editors that were subject to mock and derision here.

Still, Kennewick Man is the coolest thing to come from the Tri-Cities region since "The Bomb".

Posted by: Reporterward on February 24, 2006 01:46 PM
5. If Kennewick man wasn't an American Indian like the Puyallups or Nez Perce, then where did he come from?

It's a rhetorical question, but it does challenge the navtive Americans' claim on moral superiority over us Eurpoean American. If this country had some white immigrants across the Berign Strait then the indians lose a littel of their "native" status and holier-than-thou image!

Guess what? We're all immigrants or the descendant of immigrants in this country no matter what color you are.

Posted by: Libertarian on February 24, 2006 01:55 PM
6. As is usual, no one actually reads the story here:

"Researchers have disagreed over whether Kennewick Man was buried by other people or swept up in a flood and encased in sediment."

Posted by: JDB on February 24, 2006 02:02 PM
7. Well, that's interesting. I'm sure political historians and demographers will now be intrested in the find too because since he did not bury himself, Kennewick Man was definitely not a Democrat.

Posted by: Jeff B. on February 24, 2006 02:04 PM
8. If Kennewick man turns out to be a white guy, then I think I want the alleged Native Americans to cut me a check for taking over my land.

Posted by: tracy on February 24, 2006 02:08 PM
9. If Kennewick man turns out to be a white guy, then I think I want the alleged Native Americans to cut me a check for taking over my land.

lol, good stuff...

I knew there had to be a way to turn this topic into a political discussion ;)

Posted by: Palouse on February 24, 2006 02:24 PM
10. Someone get Kennewick Man a voter registration card.

Posted by: Michael on February 24, 2006 02:28 PM
11. JDB,

No. Folks read the article just fine including myself.

I don't think that Kennewick man was "white" persay. Not like what would we consider a Norwegian, Anglo, Celt or Latin at least (John Luc Picard appearances to the contrary). Rather than making the left turn into Europe like the ancestors of modern Europeans, his folks made a right turn across Asia and into North America.

(History geek warning)

The fact that he was buried "by others" as this scientist postulates is interesting in the fact that ancient peoples migrating here show similar (perhaps) religious beliefs with other cultures around the world how to treat their dead.

The other interesting "point" brought up in the article is how the spear head lodged in Kennewick man is different than from the types typically found here in the state.
This suggests that there was either a different culture of people here 9,000 years ago who made their spears differently. The spear was made by people elsewhere who then came here. Or the spear head was traded somehow and brought from afar. (I favor the first guess although all are exciting)

As for our native tribes in the area, I personally find their myths and cultures rather fascinating and even superior to the more famous tribes on the Great Plains, Southwest and elsewhere.

The Nisqually Indians, of Pierce County, for instance, are actually probably originally from somewhere in Eastern Washington. They were either forced out or migrated to this side of the mountains around the time horses first came here around 1600 or 1700. Since horses and old growth cedar and fir forests don't mix, they burn't down vast swathes of timber in order to provide pasture for their horses.

The fact is that with the combinations of inter-tribal warfare, trade, drought, disease, migratory patterns of game animals, natural disasters; tribes that would live in one area would inevitably move on to other areas.

So any suggestion that the Puyallup, Nez Perce, Flatheads, Yakima or any Salish tribe were the "first" inhabitants in this region is false.

Posted by: Reporterward on February 24, 2006 02:41 PM
12. Michael quips:

Someone get Kennewick Man a voter registration card.

Too late! Eight Kennewicks are already registered to vote in this state. Seems none of them were born before 8000 B.C., though.

Posted by: huckleberry on February 24, 2006 02:44 PM
13. This part of the article puzzles me:

"We are finding out they were coming thousands of years earlier than we had thought," arriving not just over the Bering Strait but also by boats and other means.

What "other means" would have been available in addition to going by sea in "boats" and by land across "Beringia" during one of the ice ages?

Posted by: Micajah on February 24, 2006 03:19 PM
14. So if Kennewick MAN was indeed buried by others...
that would infer that there were actually Kennewick MEN.

Now, there may prove to be enen more to this story. Perhaps Kennewick man was actually "transgender". Think about that a bit.

I have heard rumors that the Gay & Lesbian crowd is also staking a claim to him/her/it. Kennewick Whatever could wind up being in a float during the Freemount Gay Pride Parade!
Now that would be something to be proud about!

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on February 24, 2006 03:24 PM
15. "What "other means" would have been available in addition to going by sea in "boats" and by land across "Beringia" during one of the ice ages?
Posted by Micajah at February 24, 2006 03:19 PM"

My guess is other means == some sort of Hybrid vehicle.

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on February 24, 2006 03:26 PM
16. Within days, someone is going to pick up on the hypothesis that he may have been buried in sediment as the result of a flood, and will use that as bolstering proof of global warming. Any wagers anyone?

Posted by: katomar on February 24, 2006 04:17 PM
17. Native Americans are an interesting culture to study in many respects, but the last thing anyone should do is glorify or romanticize them.

Much of what is attributed to their various cultures is fiction, their oral histories are beyond inadequate, they were a crude stone-age culture that did NOT live "harmoniously with nature", their agricultural efforts were minimal and inefficient, and they were prone to cannibalism to the point of keeping enemies as livestock.

Posted by: H Moul on February 24, 2006 04:28 PM
18. Perhaps there was an ice bridge accross the northern Atlantic Ocean connecting Iceland, Green Land and the American mainland, before there was a migration accross the Bearing Sea.

Under that hypothesis the Europeans got here first, and migrated accross the country from the East Coast.

That would explain why the Clovis spear points found on the East Coast, say at Cactus Hill Va. date older than the Clovis points found on the West Coast.

The logic behind this is that the only other place in the world where Clovis points are found is in the Solutrean area of what is now France.

'OMIGOD', it is possible that early 'Frenchies' got here first, and brought their technology with them.

If the early French folks, some 16,000 years ago, were anything like their modern day ancestors, one could understand why the later arriving Native Americans, were taking 'pot shots' at them.

Posted by: Jim Wallace Jr. on February 24, 2006 04:36 PM
19. Kennewick man is a relative of Goldy over at HA.When there done with him they will find he came from Goldys home town in PA.

Posted by: DA WO on February 24, 2006 05:23 PM
20. Yes Huckleberry it seems there is a M.R. Kennewick registered in Bellevue, but he gave his birthyear as 1955. Does that mean he is registered improperly?

Posted by: Deadwood on February 25, 2006 02:01 AM
21. I hope they can find out more on this fellow.

Posted by: dcat on February 25, 2006 09:08 AM
22. Deadwood,

If there is a 50 year old man named M.R. Kennewick who is a U.S citizen, has not committed a felony, is of sound mind, and lives at the Bellevue address given, then he is good to go. Do you have a problem with that?

FYI - Zabasearch confirms M.R Kennewick at the given address, so two of the six requires appear to be satisified.

Huck

Posted by: huckleberry on February 25, 2006 09:49 AM
23. LOL!

Posted by: dcat on February 25, 2006 11:05 AM
24. Katomar wrote:
Within days, someone is going to pick up on the hypothesis that he may have been buried in sediment as the result of a flood, and will use that as bolstering proof of global warming. Any wagers anyone?

---------

I think it's clear that is one way to go, but the far more likely way to go is that it is proof that Kennewick Man-era Republicans refused to build proper levees, probably out of racist intent.

Posted by: Marc on February 25, 2006 01:40 PM
25. Speaking of being buried by others, the house democraps pushed their budget busting record spending budget through on a party line vote. They got all their hands in the taxpayer cookie jar so far and they are all stuffing all their jacket pockets so they will be broke next year and can come back after more massive taxation and regulation.

Oink Oink Oink Oink Oink

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002827677_housebudget25m.html

The House plan adds about $490 million in spending to the $26 billion, two-year state budget adopted last spring.

The rest they are saving for their massive pensions

And they are praising their restraint...Ha Ha Ha Ha

Restraint ... Ha Ha Ha Ha

Restraint ... Ha Ha Ha Ha

Posted by: GS on February 25, 2006 04:51 PM
26. Huck, the only registered voters I have a problem with are those who are not eligible to vote or who are registered more than and vote more than once.

Now lighten up! I was not attacking you! Gain a sense of humor, it might be fun!

Posted by: Deadwood on February 25, 2006 11:40 PM
27. "A team of 20 forensic scientists has been studying the skeleton, he said, and have concluded that the skull doesn't match those of American Indian tribes living in the area."

""This is a very rare discovery. You could count on your fingers the number of relatively complete skeletons from this time period," Owsley said."

Shame on the indian tribes who tried to hide this important discovery. It's time to stop all of this "Native American" special treatment crap.
We are all modern Americans who's ancestors migrated here and should be treated equally. (Note: I personally happen to be descended from native Americans of the Canadian variety.)


Posted by: PW on February 27, 2006 01:14 PM
28. Just for comedy relief Kenewick man is lucky he isn't from this this era!! he would get to see politicains whom act as Chrissy's cronies bury themselves in bulshivik up to thier armpits!! Time to vote these cronies out &leave her a lame duck gov don't you think folks?!

Posted by: Laurie on February 27, 2006 04:53 PM
29. was he homeless? did he live in a tent (or animal skin) city? poor fella; was he registered to vote? did he actually vote in 2004? hmmmm...we need a big grant, a big study and a blue ribbon committee;

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on February 27, 2006 09:40 PM
30. {"Much of what is attributed to their various cultures is fiction, their oral histories are beyond inadequate, they were a crude stone-age culture that did NOT live "harmoniously with nature", their agricultural efforts were minimal and inefficient, and they were prone to cannibalism to the point of keeping enemies as livestock."}

================================================

And, one could surmise that you, sir, are uneducated at best, or a bigot at worst. Crude Stone Age Culture? Interesting, considering that the Iroquois, for example, have one of the oldest continually active participatory democracies in the world... Not bad for a bunch of "Crude Stone Agers".

As far as cannibalism, I'd love to see actual proff of your assertions regarding the "Keeping enemies as livestock". I think it's a load of crap, personally, and I doubt you'd prove it. While the Iroquois (as an example again) were rumoured to have practiced some ceremonial cannibalism hundreds and hundreds of years ago (pre-Iroquoian democracy in the 1100s) the practice abruptly stopped, and instead enemy captives were normally adopted instead. Now, other tribes were and are different - especially in central america. But, only an uneducated buffoon would lump all of us together.

This is what I love about Kennewick man. Some scientist uses the word "Caucasoid", and idiots read it as "Caucasian" and think "OMG! The Indians killed off the white race here!!!!". Way to jump to conclusions here. You're so eager to absolve your ancestors of wrongdoing, that you'll grab any straw that presents itself.

Well, no matter what happens with Kennewick man, you only need to know one thing:

How this country handled itself with the various rtibes after the war of independence was wrong, dishonorable, and was certainly genocidal. Nothing you could ever say will change that one simple fact.

So move on and get over it. Most of us indians already have.


Posted by: Right Wing Indian on February 28, 2006 11:37 AM
31. Right Wing Indian,

You say, "How this country handled itself with the various rtibes [sic] after the war of independence was wrong,
dishonorable, and was certainly genocidal. Nothing you could ever say will change that one simple fact."

Wrong . . . it isn't so, and since it isn't so . . . that means it is not a fact.
How about them apples?

Posted by: Amused by liberals on February 28, 2006 01:43 PM
32. "Most of us indians already have."

Present company obviously excluded ;'}

Posted by: alphabet soup on February 28, 2006 04:06 PM
33. rt wing Indian: your point taken--thanks;

now--who compensates ME for all the invading hordes trampling MY lowly ancestors in Europe (and causing MY "leftover descendent-induced stress")?
you see--this argument never ends; everyone gets a historical "move on" in my book; how far back in history do we compensate people and continue to bitch? sure--learn from history but it's not a guilt-checkbook;

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on March 1, 2006 10:18 PM
34. Soup,

So long as it never learns, it never quits.

Jimmie-howya-doin,

Those who read history refuse to ignore it and those who don't refuse to take responsibility for it.

Posted by: Amused by liberals on March 3, 2006 10:15 AM
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