PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Scientists can study the 9,300-year-old remains of the Kennewick Man, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a decision last August by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks in Portland that the remains, which Northwest Indian tribes consider sacred, can be studied.
The tribes wanted the bones, found on the north bank of the Columbia River in 1996 by teenagers going to a boat race, to be turned over to them for burial.
The three-judge panel found that the remains do not fall under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and can be studied under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.
Note the link provided to access the original court document.
The most important aspect of this decision was the clarification of NAGPRA's meaning of cultural relationship (p. 18 of the decision): "The text of the relevant statutory clause is written in the present tense ("of, or relating to, a tribe, people, or culture that is indigenous"). Thus the statute unambiguously requires that human remains bear some relationship to a presently existing tribe, people, or culture to be considered Native American." Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's decision that Kennewick Man was, somehow, demonstrably affiliated with current tribes was simply a bit of fanciful, wishful thinking, driven entirely by political considerations.
Note also the decision's blasting of the Army Corp's handling of the case, especially covering over the site with a couple million pounds of dirt and then BSing about the reason they did so. It was really little more than an attempt to get rid of the problem by covering it up (literally).
Zahi Hawass: ‘A strong personality is essential for a good archaeologist’
Head of Egypt’s antiquities council explains how to preserve ancient treasures
CAIRO: Zahi Hawass, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), may be the most powerful man in archaeology today. In Egyptology, all roads lead to Zahi, as the crowded waiting room, scurrying secretaries and deferential foreign archaeologists at his Zamalek premises attest. In his inner office, applicants advance along a row of chairs, gradually approaching his desk, while Hawass calls orders over his shoulder and signs papers proffered toward his pen.
Out in the field, Hawass’ demeanor is energetic; adorned with his standard Indiana Jones hat and buccaneer scowl, he often leads camera crews and photographers around the ancient sites that are his domain.
Ah, the irrepressible Zahi. On the whole, I think he's done marvelous things for Egyptian archaeology. Many balk at his sometimes heavy-handed approach to foreign missions operating in the country, but one cannot really argue with many of his goals. I believe he truly wishes to professionalize local Egyptian archaeology through the Inspectorate -- that is, training SCA inspectors to be more than bureaucrats. In my work with the ARCE Field School, which trains SCA inspectors in modern field methods, I can say that this is indeed happening and it's all to the good in my view. They have many, many talented people and full cooperation between foreign missions and locals will only enhance the work.