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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
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Forensic scientist digs for details of Kennewick Man |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Monday, 24 April 2006 |
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By MEA ANDREWS of the Missoulian Kennewick Man is free from his eight-year legal battle, but he's a long way from being free from intrigue over his 9,300-year-old bones. How did he die? What activity would wear down his teeth? Where did he come from?
What will DNA reveal about his past?
They're all questions still being asked by the scientists who study him, including Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution, who was in Missoula Thursday to talk about some of his work as a historical forensic scientist, forensic anthropologist and bioarchaeologist.
Boaters found Kennewick Man's skull along the Columbia River near Kennewick, Wash., in 1996. Later, 379 other bones were found scattered nearby.
After radiocarbon dating estimated the skeleton to be 9,300 years old, a modern-day battle blew up. Northwest American Indian tribes claimed the skeleton and wanted to re-bury it, invoking the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Owsley and other scientists went to court and fought more than eight years for the right to study the bones. A federal judge and appeals court ruled in the scientists' favor, saying there is too little information about Kennewick Man to link him to the tribes.
Now, after two years of study, scientists are answering questions about the rare skeleton, even as more mysteries pile up.
Owsley is one of the more famous historical forensic scientists in the world, tapped to help identify bones after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, study skeletons in a recovered Civil War submarine and study remains after the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas.
He's also involved in a large Smithsonian Institution exhibit, slated for next year, that marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Va., and the historical forensic work that helped identify some of the bodies of the founders.
His afternoon talk on Kennewick Man at the University of Montana on Thursday filled a large lecture hall in UM's Social Sciences building - an encouraging sight, he said afterward, because new blood in his highly specialized field is critical to carry on the science that reveals secrets of commoners and kings of long-ago times.
Kennewick Man is a tremendously valuable find, Owsley said.
“You can count on your fingers the number of well-preserved skeletons of that time period,” he said. “Most are so incomplete it's hard to gather information.”
Not so with Kennewick Man, whose skeleton is nearly complete.
Some early speculations about the skeleton haven't panned out, now that scientists have access to the bones, Owsley said.
For instance, Kennewick Man was not buried in a fetal position, but was purposely placed on his back, with hands by his side and palms flat and down, Owsley said. He explained the scientific reasons for that conclusion, including calcium deposits found on the backsides of bones, a pattern affected by rain, soils and natural metals.
Also, scientists can tell a lot from a careful study of fractures, determining whether they happened before or after death, thousands of years ago or three years ago, and even what caused them - the weight of soil or a cow walking on top of the skeleton, for instance. Many of Kennewick Man's fractures happened when his skeleton was pulled from the soil by high water and waves, Owsley said.
Green staining from algae, reddish stains from iron manganese and bones bleached white suggest positioning of the body in the ground and exposure to air and sunlight at times during his 9,300-year rest. The skeleton remained undisturbed for a long time, as no teeth marks from wild animals were evident, according to Owsley.
Kennewick Man's remains reveal an athletic and strong man, an unusually strong right arm, and a mouth used for a repetitive task that wore down his front teeth, Owsley said.
Most fascinating is the spearhead found imbedded in his right hip. It has barbs, came from someone throwing a weapon from a distance to the right, aiming down, with enough force to send it into the bone. The tip may have broken off when the weapon was pulled from his body, but the wound did not kill him, according to the scientist.
Finding out more about that spearhead is one of the goals of the scientific team; knowing enemies is always revealing.
Because of the lawsuit and court battle, everyone is curious about whether Kennewick Man is related to modern-day American Indians. Owsley believes he is not.
His craniofacial features are more linked to Polynesian or Ainu, predating existing American Indian tribes, Owsley said Thursday.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/04/14/news/local/news03.txt |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.” Helen Keller
Shirtless and Sculpted
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