Scientists to Begin Studying Kennewick Man
Jun 28, 10:56 PM (ET)
By WILLIAM McCALL
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - After nearly a decade of court battles, scientists plan to begin studying the 9,300-year-old skeleton known as Kennewick Man next week.
A team of scientists plans to examine the bones at the University of Washington's Burke Museum in Seattle beginning July 6, according to their attorney, Alan Schneider.
Four Northwest Indian tribes had opposed the study, claiming the skeleton could be an ancestor who should be buried. The Interior Department and the Army Corps of Engineers had sided with the tribes.
But a federal judge in Portland, backed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that the researchers could study the bones to determine how the man died and to find clues to prehistoric life in North America.
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The researchers plan to do what is called a "taphonomic" examination of the skeleton, taking measurements and making observations about the processes that affect animal and plant remains as they become fossilized. Further study is planned based on the initial findings, Schneider said.
"Taphonomy is really a forensic examination," Schneider said. "You try to determine everything that has affected the skeleton from day of death until you study it."
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Main Entry: ta·phon·o·my
Pronunciation: t&-'fä-n&-mE, ta-
Etymology: Greek taphE burial + English -nomy
: the study of the processes (as burial, decay, and preservation) that affect animal and plant remains as they become fossilized
- taph·o·nom·ic /"ta-f&-'nä-mik/ adjective
- ta·phon·o·mist /t&-'fä-n&-mist, ta-/ noun
"Larry has worked for the Government for so long, his doctor is a taphonomist instead of a gerontologist."