Sunday, Apr. 17, 2005

Author explores Kennewick Man theory

By Anna King, Herald staff writer

Jon Turk took to the seas to prove his theory of where the ancestors of Kennewick Man came from.

But he almost quit after he spent about a day and a half battling a Pacific Ocean whirlpool in his tiny boat.

"Most adventures happen very quickly," he said. "But when the pressure is on for 36 hours, your mind almost goes dull. You are just reacting. You are just trying to cope."

When Turk finally reached shore, he realized the island he had landed on was uninhabited, and with no radio he couldn't call for help.

The whirlpool left Turk shaken, exhausted and back where he started. But he continued on, feeling he had no choice but to continue deeper into his 3,000-mile quest for answers about the origins of Kennewick Man.

Turk wrote about his theory and adventures in the book In the Wake of the Jomon. He plans a slide show and book signing Monday at Whitman College in Walla Walla.

The book floats the theory that Kennewick Man might have not been either Native American nor a Caucasoid, but a Jomon or ancient inhabitant of Japan.

He thinks the people may have paddled primitive dugout canoes across the North Pacific to reach the Western Hemisphere.

Turk decided to set out to see if it was possible to ply a craft nearly 3,000 miles from Japan, across Eastern Siberia to Alaska's St. Lawrence Island as the ancients would have.

"It got a hook in my soul, and it's what I've been doing for seven years," he said.

Turk wanted to find out if the long trip could be made, with no extra support or food, other than what he could find along the way.

He also wanted to understand why one might embark on such a journey.

The author said he's sure there will be people who disagree with his theory about Kennewick Man, a 9,400-year-old skeleton found along the banks of the Columbia River in 1996 - and that's OK with him.

"I expect controversy," he said. "If people read my book carefully enough to disagree with me I would be delighted."

Turk made his journey in two separate trips in 2000 and 2001.

He said he encountered many of the same challenges that an ancient mariner might have dealt with like gales, fog, dangerous currents and hunger.

Some of his modern-day challenges included immigration officials and Russian officers.

He went hungry and went without sleep, but it all made good fodder for his book, he said.

And some of the lessons learned on his voyage won't be forgotten.

Since his experience with the whirlpool, Turk said he always packs one thing extra.

"I've been carrying a radio," he said.