-Caveat Lector- Kennewick Man May Have Asian Roots By LINDA ASHTON .c The Associated Press YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Kennewick Man, one of the oldest and most complete human skeletons ever found in North America, does not appear to have links to American Indian tribes or to Europeans and may have had Asian or Polynesian roots, scientists reported. But Joseph Powell, one of the scientists who studied the bones for the U.S. Interior Department, said Friday that many questions remain to be answered. ``It's similar to what we're seeing with other ancient skeletons in both North and South America - there's some difference between them and any modern people anywhere in the world,'' said Powell, a professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico. In the report, Powell and scientist Jerome Rose found that Kennewick Man ``appears to have the strongest ... affinities with populations from Polynesia and southern Asia, and not with American Indians or Europeans in the reference samples.'' But to say that Kennewick Man might be most closely linked to the people of Polynesia or even the ancient Ainu of Japan, ``doesn't totally convey what we found,'' Powell said. The older the bones, the more difficult it can be to neatly link them to specific populations, he said. He also noted that ancient skeletons found in Europe or Asia, for example, don't necessarily look like modern-day Europeans or Asians. Any number of factors could have influenced the degree of variation among humans then and now. The bones, found in the shallows of the Columbia River in 1996, are believed to be more than 9,000 years old. Results of new carbon dating tests are expected to be available next month. Five Northwest Indian tribes have claimed Kennewick Man as an ancestor, as has the Asatru Folk Assembly, an old Norse pagan group. Representatives of the tribes and of the Asatru did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday. The disposition of the bones has been hotly contested ever since the first anthropologist to examine Kennewick Man noted that the skull bore little resemblance to today's Indian people. The Interior Department will look at the archaeology, geography, ethnography, biology and history of tribes near the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers as part of the process to determine ``cultural affiliation'' of Kennewick Man, who is named for a town near his discovery site. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
