Why Kennewick Changed Everything

To understand why the Spirit Cave DNA analysis mattered so much when it was finally conducted, it helps to understand the Kennewick Man case that was unfolding in parallel — a case that raised identical questions about ancient American skull morphology and Indigenous rights, but that proceeded very differently.

The Kennewick Man — also known as the Ancient One among the Native American communities that claimed him — was found in July 1996 on the banks of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, when two young men attending a boat race stumbled across a human skull in the shallow water.

Forensic anthropologist James Chatters examined the remains and noted that the skull’s morphology was, in his initial assessment, inconsistent with contemporary Native American populations.