ANT200_Ex4_Bioarchaeology+and+moturary+practices_2023

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University of Toronto, Mississauga *

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Anthropology

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Dec 6, 2023

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Professor Liye Xie, ANT200 Summer 2023 Exercise 4 (August 10, 2023) Bioarchaeology & Mortuary Practice (by Taylor H. Thornton and Liye Xie) Student’s Name : Grade : /6 1. Read the following two excerpts regarding Kennewick Man. Then, write a short statement (150-300 words ) outlining your thoughts regarding this case. Your statement must identify the major stakeholders and consider both the scientific and ethical implications for either continued study or repatriation-and-reburial . (4 pts) Page 1 of 2 NPR News: June 18, 2015 “New genetic evidence suggests that Kennewick Man, an 8,500-year-old skeleton found in Washington state, is related to members of a nearby Native American tribe. The DNA may help resolve a long-running scientific mystery, while at the same time reigniting a debate over who should have custody of the remains. Kennewick Man was discovered accidentally in the mud flat along the Columbia River in 1996. He's caused a ruckus ever since. Physical anthropologists said his facial features and cranium didn't look Native American. Researchers suspected he might have come from Asia or Polynesia. But Native American groups insisted he was their ancestor and deserved a proper burial. The federal government agreed and locked up the skeleton. Scientists then sued to "release" it. And they won. Kennewick Man has been studied since then, and his remains are kept in a museum in Washington. Up until now, the best-documented scientific hypothesis was that Kennewick Man is a relative of the Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan and Russia, or perhaps Polynesians. That was based on analysis of the skeleton and its features. But new DNA evidence from a Danish group shows that Kennewick Man is genetically related to members of local tribes. [The Danish researchers] acknowledge that there is very little genetic information about modern Native Americans to make comparisons. There might be other tribes more closely related to Kennewick Man. And it also could be that Native Americans are descendants of some relative of Kennewick Man who lived 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. And there's still the mystery of where Kennewick Man came from .... [H]e was a coastal dweller and a wanderer. His ancestors could have been from far away — no one knows yet.” KEPR News: February 20 th , 2017 “Mission, OR -- The ancient remains known as Kennewick Man have finally been returned to the ground. According to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, early Saturday, more than 200 members of five Columbia Plateau tribes gathered at an undisclosed location to lay the remains of the man they call "The Ancient One" to rest. “This is a big day and our People have come to witness and honor our ancestor,” said Armand Minthorn, CTUIR Board of Trustees Member and Longhouse leader, “we continue to practice our beliefs and laws as our Creator has given us since time immemorial.” Tribal members waited more than 20 years to be allowed to rebury the bones which are believed to be more than 8400 years old.”

Professor Liye Xie, ANT200 Summer 2023 2. There are many aspects of mortuary rites that bioarchaeology, and archaeology in general, cannot detect. Watch the first 7 minutes of the following video: Aluk to Raja: funeral ritual in Tana Toraja Indonesia , then answer the following two questions. Warning: Disturbing Content – Animal Butchery Scene As part of our course curriculum, we assign the above mentioned film that delves into a mortuary rite that will leave only partial material records. Please be aware that the film contains a segment depicting sacrificial animal buthery, which occurs from 4:25 to 5:55 mins. This particular scene serves as a valuable resource for archaeologists to reconstruct the practices of animal sacrifices based on faunal remains found in ancient burials. However, we understand that the images and sounds associated with animal buthery might be unsettling for some viewers . If you find this content disturbing, we want to assure you that it is optional to watch this specific section. Skip the segment from 4:25 to 5:55 minutes will not affect your ability to comprehensively engaged with and respond to the file-related questions. Please prioritize your comfort while viewing the film, and feel free to reach out if you have any concerns or require further assistance. 2.1 List three aspects of the shown Indonesian mortuary rite that archaeologists might not recover in the archaeological record if they were to excavate this mortuary site 1000 years from now. Please note that your answers should highlight the ritual activities that leave minimal to none tangile material evidence, and not perishable materials per se. Be as specific as possible (1 pt) 2.2. If you were studying the mortuary practices of the Thule (i.e. prehistoric Inuit) from Greenland, would this ethnographic video you just watched make for a good analogy? Why or why not? (1 pt) ~ ~ ~ End of Exercise ~ ~ ~  Page 2 of 2

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ANT200_Ex4_Bioarchaeology+and+moturary+practices_2023

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