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Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans
An anthropologist journeys back in time to the early history of North America to look at growing evidence about early visitors to these shores who predate the Native Americans and describes the 1996 discovery of a skeleton near Kennewick, Washington, that was 9,500 years old and whose physical characteristics were unlike those of American Indians. 40,000 first printing.
Hardcover
First published June 7, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 20, 2016
An excellent story of a scientist's battle to save a paleo-American for posterity. He does a great and thorough job of explaining all the prevailing theories of how the Americas were populated in multiple migrations, some of them from the sea by the same forebears of the Polynesians. Always respectful of the Native Americans, including explaining their point of view, he nonetheless makes an amazingly strong case for Kennewick man being from an earlier migration than the Native American tribes. An excellent and easy read, with scientific explanations very well done and easy to understand. Adds significantly to our understanding of the populating of the Americas.
April 22, 2020
It's interesting to find out about humans who arrived in the Americas before the modern native Americans. I had no idea. And based on the research, it shows that there is still so much we can learn about the earliest people.
September 11, 2024
"The skeleton known as Kennewick Man was discovered in 1996 by two young men along the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington. When the skeleton was brought to Jim Chatters, a forensic anthropologist, Chatters first believed that the remains were those of a nineteenth-century pioneer. He was astonished when radiocarbon dating revealed the skeleton to be approximately 9,500 years old, making it one of the oldest skeletons ever found in North America. But what really intrigued Chatters was that despite his antiquity, Kennewick Man did not resemble modern Native Americans. So who was he, and where did he come from? Ancient Encounters is Chatters' compelling account of his quest to find the answers to these questions -- a quest that ultimately was halted by political considerations.
"Chatters' investigation was cut short because local Indian groups claimed the skeleton under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and demanded the right to rebury the remains. The Army Corp of Engineers, which had jurisdiction over the land where Kennewick Man was found, seized the skeleton and put it into federal storage, where it remains to this day. The skeleton was not reburied, because a group of scientists whom Chatters contacted to help him in his investigation filed suit to prevent this. Their suit is scheduled to go to trial in 2001.
"But Ancient Encounters is much more than a story of political intrigue. This is an anthropological detective story, told by the first scientist to have studied Kennewick Man. In the short time that the skeleton as in Chatters' hands, he learned a great deal about the man's life. Numerous serious injuries -- including a spear point embedded in his hip -- indicate that Kennewick Man led a dangerous, perhaps even violent life. His physical characteristics suggest a relationship to the people of Polynesia, perhaps a common ancestry. As Chatters consulted other experts and explored museum collections, he learned that many of Kennewick Man's physical features were shared by other ancient skeletons discovered in the Americas. The first Americans,l or Paleo-Americans, as they are known to some in the scientific community, may have arrived in the Americas earlier and by a different route than has been generally agreed, Kennewick Man may hold significant clues to the ancestry of the people of the Americas, which is why, Chatters argues, his skeleton deserves further study.
"Fascinating and impassioned, Ancient Encounters is an important exploration of the origins of our earliest ancestors -- and a critical examination of the controversy over who owns the past."
~~front and back flaps
You should rad this book if you are at all interested in any part of America's prehistoric past. I found it completely absorbing -- the author has the unique and very valuable ability to write to an academic audience as well as the lay public. He explains every technique used to study the skeleton; he explains measurement schemes; he illuminates the story of the soils Kennewick Man was found in -- it's an absolutely bravura accomplishment.
Not only does he provide an exhausting catalogue of Kennewick Man's skeleton, injuries physical attributes, the author explains the controversy over the different theories on how this continent was settled, and when, and how. Again, in language easily understood by the lay reader but also cogent to the archaeological and paleoanthropological community.
I seriously considered finding a copy that I could own, if only to have all that knowledge at my fingertips. But years have passed since the books was written, and the question of Kennewick Man was settled in 2016, so there is a lot more to the story that couldn't be included in this book. But I might succumb to archaeological book lust anyway.
"Chatters' investigation was cut short because local Indian groups claimed the skeleton under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and demanded the right to rebury the remains. The Army Corp of Engineers, which had jurisdiction over the land where Kennewick Man was found, seized the skeleton and put it into federal storage, where it remains to this day. The skeleton was not reburied, because a group of scientists whom Chatters contacted to help him in his investigation filed suit to prevent this. Their suit is scheduled to go to trial in 2001.
"But Ancient Encounters is much more than a story of political intrigue. This is an anthropological detective story, told by the first scientist to have studied Kennewick Man. In the short time that the skeleton as in Chatters' hands, he learned a great deal about the man's life. Numerous serious injuries -- including a spear point embedded in his hip -- indicate that Kennewick Man led a dangerous, perhaps even violent life. His physical characteristics suggest a relationship to the people of Polynesia, perhaps a common ancestry. As Chatters consulted other experts and explored museum collections, he learned that many of Kennewick Man's physical features were shared by other ancient skeletons discovered in the Americas. The first Americans,l or Paleo-Americans, as they are known to some in the scientific community, may have arrived in the Americas earlier and by a different route than has been generally agreed, Kennewick Man may hold significant clues to the ancestry of the people of the Americas, which is why, Chatters argues, his skeleton deserves further study.
"Fascinating and impassioned, Ancient Encounters is an important exploration of the origins of our earliest ancestors -- and a critical examination of the controversy over who owns the past."
~~front and back flaps
You should rad this book if you are at all interested in any part of America's prehistoric past. I found it completely absorbing -- the author has the unique and very valuable ability to write to an academic audience as well as the lay public. He explains every technique used to study the skeleton; he explains measurement schemes; he illuminates the story of the soils Kennewick Man was found in -- it's an absolutely bravura accomplishment.
Not only does he provide an exhausting catalogue of Kennewick Man's skeleton, injuries physical attributes, the author explains the controversy over the different theories on how this continent was settled, and when, and how. Again, in language easily understood by the lay reader but also cogent to the archaeological and paleoanthropological community.
I seriously considered finding a copy that I could own, if only to have all that knowledge at my fingertips. But years have passed since the books was written, and the question of Kennewick Man was settled in 2016, so there is a lot more to the story that couldn't be included in this book. But I might succumb to archaeological book lust anyway.
July 25, 2023
The author used excellent analogies to help teach difficult concepts, such as modeling ancient population movements through DNA. The story of the Kennewick man was thrilling at first, before all of the NAGPRA business, which got tedious. The overview of Kennewick man and who his people might have been (last half of book) was awesome.
May 8, 2023
I don't totally agree with Chatters' opinions on the case/repatriation but I can't deny that this book was very well-written and that the Kennewick Man case was absolutely butchered when the US government took over. It was easy to follow the academic and legal jargon and I really appreciated that Chatters didn't shove his western bias at me. He did a pretty good job of presenting his side of the case with some opinions here and there; the last half of the book wasn't even about the case, it was about other paleo burials and peopling of the Americas theories. Very informative and very interesting.
August 24, 2015
Author does a wonderful job of explaining the problems with AGPRA and the issues involved with science versus culture/religion. The fact is that Kennewick Man is closest biologically to Polynesians and the Ainu---so the question becomes, how do we define Native-American since technically, no humans are "native" to the Americas. We ALL came from somewhere else. So at what point do the rights of everyone to knowledge and general culture collide with that of specific groups. A great read, even for the uninitiated, I would think.
March 20, 2016
I read this for a class and to be honest I didn't love it. I have a previous interest in NAGPRA legislation and was prepared to be fully against Chatters and his quest. However he did broaden my mindset a bit, however I still think in the end it was a defense of questionable western practices taking precedence over Native American beliefs. I also found it difficult to read, at times too conversational, other times too technical, and other times petty, and airing of personal grievances. However it was a really interesting case, and I enjoyed learning about the history of the Americas.
August 10, 2009
Excellent and level-headed explanation of the world surrounding Kennewick Man, in ancient and contemporary times.
March 11, 2010
Very interesting book. I enjoyed it a lot. Chatters makes much of the science in this book readable, which I appreciate!
December 6, 2010
Quite a fascinating read. Definitely written from a one sided view point but worth the read.
August 1, 2011
Great book
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews