Kennewick Man: Ancestry Update

    A team of Danish scientists published an article in the journal Nature that clarified important data relating to the human remains  found along the Columbia River in 1996.  After two college students found a skull in the mud along the shore, local police treated the case as one of murder.  However, after the rest of the skeleton was uncovered and examined, it was found to be the remains of an ancient human 8,500 years old.  His identity was a mystery.
     Some identified the remains as European, based on skull characteristics.  Some felt he was related to the Ainu natives peoples of Japan.  Still others, local tribesmen of native Americans of the northwest, claimed him as one of their own.  Now these same tribesmen are claiming Kennewick Man as thier property and want to give him a ritual burial.  The Ancient One had DNA that was analyzed, and it was found to be closely related to that of the Colville tribe of the local area.  The scientists will not definitely say Kennewick Man is an ancestor of Colville peoples, but he is definitely the closest fit among the tribes.