An Accidental Discovery Along the Columbia River
In 1996, two college students stumbled upon bones on the banks of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. Radiocarbon dating revealed the skeleton was about 9,000 years old—one of the oldest and most complete found in North America.
This find, later known as Kennewick Man, quickly became the center of scientific scrutiny and legal battles, raising questions about ancestry, ownership, and access to ancient human remains.
From Legal Battle to Genetic Breakthrough
Five Native American tribes, citing ancestral connection, requested reburial under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). But scientists contested the claim, pointing to anatomical features they believed didn’t match modern Native American groups.
In 2004, after eight years of litigation, a federal court granted researchers the right to study the remains. Analysis initially linked the skeleton to groups like the Ainu and Moriori based on skull shape, but DNA samples couldn’t be extracted at the time due to degradation.
Cracking the Genome of the “Wise One”
By the 2010s, advances in genetic sequencing allowed researchers led by Eske Willerslev and Morten Rasmussen at the University of Copenhagen to successfully extract and reconstruct a genome from a 200 mg hand bone sample.
Comparing Kennewick Man’s DNA to global populations—including samples from one of the claiming tribes, the Colville—they found that he was genetically closer to Native Americans than to any other group. Though not conclusively linked to a single tribe, the results placed Kennewick Man within the same broad population.
Scientific Questions Continue, So Do Cultural Ones
Colville may descend from a shared ancestral population, or he may be a direct ancestor of the Colville, with genetic drift obscuring the connection. Morphological studies were reexamined and found to be inconclusive on their own. While the DNA findings brought new clarity, they also reopened debates.
Under NAGPRA, cultural affiliation with a modern tribe is required for repatriation. The question of Kennewick Man’s final resting place remained unresolved, pending further judicial and scientific review.
In 1996, students found ancient bones near the Columbia River.
Tests revealed they were about 9,000 years old.
Named Kennewick Man, the skeleton became the focus of legal battles, tribal claims, and scientific studies seeking answers about its origins…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/1fN6zLdkzP
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) June 20, 2025