The DNA was, in a sense, the least important part of the Tribe’s claim — the part that was most legible to the scientific and legal establishment that had been denying the claim, and that therefore became pivotal in the resolution of the legal dispute.

But the Tribe had been right about the Spirit Cave Man before the DNA was analyzed, and they were right for reasons that had nothing to do with molecular biology.

The Broader Lesson For American Archaeology

The Spirit Cave case, taken in its entirety, is one of the most instructive episodes in the history of American archaeology — not because it ended well, but because of what it required before it could end well.

It required a scientist willing to approach a tribal community as a genuine partner rather than as an obstacle.