Thursday, Jun. 05, 2008

Alaska natives seek to find out more about their ancient man

By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor

Members of three Alaska tribal groups are planning to meet in Juneau today to see if DNA testing on some of them will link them ancestrally to a 10,300-year-old partial skeleton found in a remote cave on Prince of Wales Island.

George Bryson, a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, noted that in this case elders of the three Native American tribal groups have approved of the research and have supported earlier research on the remains.

Tlingit elder Rosita Worl told Bryson, “... the way that it was interpreted was that we had one of our ancestors offering himself to give us knowledge. ... If our culture is going to survive and flourish, then we have to be receptive to science.”

That’s a far different attitude than the stance taken by Mid-Columbia tribes over the 9,200-year-old skeleton of Kennewick man, which was found along the Columbia River in 1996, the same year the ancient Alaska remains were discovered.

Tribal leaders in Washington and Oregon fought for years to prevent study of the remains found in Kennewick’s Columbia Park. They instead wanted to bury Kennewick Man without study.

The Tlingit, Haida and Tshimshian Indians, however, hope to help unravel some of the mysteries about their ancestors.

Research conducted after DNA was successfully extracted from a tooth found in the island cave indicates the nearest genetic relatives of the man still can be found along the coasts of North and South America from California to the tip of Argentina.

There may be a fascinating tale that emerges from the research that would fill a gap in the theories about how early peoples settled the western fringe of the two continents.

Research conducted in On Your Knees Cave already has revealed some fascinating threads of history about its contents. Among other bones found was the femur of a 35,000-year-old grizzly bear.

And the man’s bones discovered in the cave appear to have been gnawed on by that bear’s younger kin. Plus, stone tools found nearby suggest the man was a traveler because they were made from rock not found on Prince of Wales Island.

So far, a fascinating story. With more to be told, thanks to the native people’s interest in learning more of their own story.

Ken Robertson: 582-1520; krobertson@tricityherald.com