In what may resolve long dispute, Kennewick Man linked by DNA to modern Native Americans

SEATTLE -- DNA of the 8,500-year-old Kennewick Man found in Washington shows he is more closely related to modern Native Americans than any other group, according to a new study reported Thursday in the journal Nature.

The finding could help resolve a long-running dispute over the ancestry and custody of the "Ancient One," as Native Americans call him.

Some Native American tribes have sought custody of the skeleton so that it can be reburied. But that effort was blocked by a lawsuit that contended there was no evidence to tie the skeleton to modern tribes.



With the outcome of the lawsuit enabling more tests to be performed, craniometric analysts examining his skull contended Kennewick Man was more closely related to the Pacific groups of Ainu and Polynesians than he is to modern Native Americans.

The new research seemingly rebuts those suggestions that Kennewick Man wasn't connected to modern Native people based on the features of his skull.

"In order to resolve Kennewick Man’s ancestry and affiliations, we have sequenced his (DNA) genome ... and compared it to worldwide genomic data including the Ainu and Polynesians," the new study says. "We find that Kennewick Man is closer to modern Native Americans than to any other population worldwide.

"Among the Native American groups for whom genome-wide data are available for comparison, several seem to be descended from a population closely related to that of Kennewick Man, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville), one of the five tribes claiming Kennewick Man," it says.

"We therefore conclude based on genetic comparisons that Kennewick Man shows continuity with Native North Americans over at least the last eight millennia."

The skeleton of Kennewick Man was discovered in July 1996 in shallow water along the Columbia River shoreline outside Kennewick, Wash.