Monday, Dec. 27, 1999

Archaeology becoming popular science

By Mike Lee Herald staff writer

SANTA FE, N.M. - Thanks in large part to Kennewick Man and the questions it raises about the New World's first inhabitants, American archaeology is becoming an increasingly popular science.

It even has its own new glitzy magazine - Scientific American's Discovering Archaeology - complete with a picture of Indiana Jones on the cover of the December issue and a column about the ancient bones found in Kennewick three years ago.

Everyone, it seems, wants to know more about who was here first - and archaeologists are increasingly appealing for public support. Nearly 1,500 scientists, professors, artifact collectors, museum curators and journalists converged on Santa Fe in late October for what is thought to be the largest symposium ever on the peopling of the New World.

"It is probably no exaggeration to say that more has been written and said about this skeleton than any other prehistoric human skeleton ever found in North America," said Alan Schneider, lawyer for the scientists suing for the right to study Kennewick Man.

And public interest just keeps rising. Attendance at the Santa Fe conference was several times what organizers initially expected. By comparison, a similar conference in Maine 10 years ago drew about 350.

"Americans are vitally interested in their origins - where they are from and who their people are," said conference sponsor and respected artifact collector Forrest Fenn.

He's is planning a popular book - in "plain English" with color pictures - on the conference to entice average Americans to support the discipline. "You can't get public sector money unless you get public sector interest," he said.

A generation of college and high school students is cutting teeth on the Kennewick Man case because of the questions the bones raise about history, science, religion, human rights and public policy.

In addition to science and history buffs, Kennewick Man has attracted those interested in theories beyond the realm of science.

"Studies show the lack of a clear distinction between scientific inferences and fanciful interpretations of ancient space alien contacts or a literal reading of the Bible," said Frank McManamon, lead archaeologist for the National Park Service, in a recent column for an agency magazine.

But that hasn't slowed demands for information. A TV documentary crew from Paris - roughly the eighth such film company to cover Kennewick Man - interviewed several involved with the case, including Robson Bonnichsen, director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Oregon State University.

Over the last three years, Bonnichsen has fielded calls from more than 200 journalists around the world. In part, that's because his name is on the court case eight prominent scientists filed to study Kennewick Man, Bonnichsen vs. United States of America.

While press coverage has produced no small amount of misinformation and misguided speculation, Schneider and the suing scientists aren't shy about seeking public support.

While the plaintiffs mug for the cameras - including the Herald's - Northwest tribal leaders have rarely returned phone calls to journalists in the last year when the subject is Kennewick Man. Their patience seemed to run out last October after 60 Minutes presented what tribes called a "simplified" and "sensationalized" case in prime time.

"Such poor journalism can only further polarize an issue that should be resolved by thoughtful discussion rather than litigation and legislation," said Antone Minthorn, board member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

The Umatillas stated their position early and have stuck by it for three years through multiple new developments in the Kennewick case. They refer to press coverage of the issue as the scientists' "media campaign" and seem resigned, in the words of Don Sampson, former chairman of the Umatillas' board, that "many people don't seem to care about, or respect, our tribal beliefs."