The resolution of the Geronimo skull mystery — if it comes — will likely not be a single dramatic moment of revelation.

It will more probably be the result of a specific sequence of events: access to the relevant samples, laboratory analysis, comparison with descendant DNA, and consultation with Apache communities about the appropriate next steps.

What would constitute resolution?

A definitive finding that the relevant remains are not Geronimo’s — that whatever is in the Skull and Bones Tomb, if anything, does not genetically match Geronimo’s descendants — would resolve the specific mystery while raising the question of whose remains they are.

A definitive finding that the remains are Geronimo’s — that they match the genetic profile of his known descendants — would confirm the legend and shift the question to repatriation: where should the remains go, and what process should govern that decision?