A pseudoarchaeological case we didn’t cover in class was the case of the Kennewick Man, the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), and the associated legal battle over repatriation. This case study exemplifies the religious and nationalist themes of pseudoarchaeology. The Kennewick Man was discovered in 1996 on the Columbia River; his skeleton, which was relatively well preserved, dates back to 9,300 years ago. Local anthropological consultant Jim Chatters noted the lack of typical Indigenous features, labeled the Kennewick Man as ‘Caucasoid’, and speculated the remains to be that of a white pioneer. However, an ancient stone spear tip was found embedded in the Kennewick Man’s hip, dating him back to approximately 7,500 B.C. This made the Kennewick Man the oldest intact human fossil ever found in the Northwest, one of only a few found in America. This discovery sparked the start of an intense battle among Indigenous stakeholders, American archaeologists, and the AFA. 

Five Indigenous tribes claimed the Kennewick Man as ancestral remains but were opposed by eight archaeologists who filed a lawsuit arguing that NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, did not apply because of the lack of Native American features on the Kennewick Man. However, all scientific DNA data demonstrated that the Kennewick Man was 100% Indigenous; the archaeologists lost the lawsuit and thus his skeleton was repatriated. The remains were reburied in a private ceremony in 2017. The pseudoarchaeological narrative surrounding the Kennewick Man stems from the involvement of the AFA. The Asatru Folk Assembly is a California-based ‘religious’ group that holds strong white nationalist beliefs. They describe themselves as a Euro-American tribe that embraces pre-Christian pagan religion. The AFA inserted themselves into the legal battle for the Kennewick Man under the claims that the remains were not Indigenous but instead one of their “ancestors” who should thus be returned to them. They supported their claims by holding up Chatters’ initial labeling of the skeleton as ‘Caucasoid’ as factually correct and demanded access to the Kennewick Man so they could study and DNA test the remains, implying that the major academic institutions who already did so and found the remains to be Indigenous were actually wrong. They also supported their claims with theories that their European predecessors traveled to North America via an ancient Bering land bridge, though most anthropologists don’t buy into the theory. The idea itself that migration is the source of Native American people in America is contested by most Indigenous groups, who uphold their creation stories and reassert to archaeologists and scientists that the knowledge of how people lived in 7,500 B.C. already exists; it is preserved and passed on through their Indigenous histories. This situation embodies the conflict between Western science and Indigenous knowledge. 

The AFA upheld their conviction in their distorted and pseudoarchaeological narrative and filed suit in Federal Court in an attempt to access the Kennewick Man. In their public plea for money, they described the Kennewick Man as a link to their past that the government was trying to hide and touted political correctness, rather than a lack of scientific evidence, as the reason no one acknowledged the presence of non-Native American groups in early America. The AFA’s desire to ‘repatriate’ remains that aren’t culturally theirs is rooted in nationalist thought and somewhat disguised by religious fervor. It’s a direct erasure of Indigenous knowledge and North American history and endorses a distrust of academic and government institutions that’s typical of many pseudoarchaeological narratives.

References

Halmhofer, Stephanie. “Knowledge Feature: Pseudoarchaeology.” Bones, Stones, and Books. WordPress, August 26, 2021. https://bonesstonesandbooks.com/2018/01/08/knowledge-feature-pseudoarchaeology/. 

Lyke, M.L. “Pagans, Tribes, Scientists Battle over Ancient Bones.” The Washington Post. WP Company, September 10, 1997. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/09/10/pagans-tribes-scientists-battle-over-ancient-bones/b69c5214-aa3a-4e47-bad2-e28eb6ea9882/. 

“Mistaken Man.” The New York Times. The New York Times, December 1, 1996. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/01/magazine/mistaken-man.html. 

“The Ancient One, Kennewick Man.” Burke Museum. UW College of Arts & Sciences, February 20, 2017. https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/ancient-one-kennewick-man.