Brief Overview Of Skull Wars By David Hurst Thomas

After reading “Skull Wars” by David Hurst Thomas, I gained new insight on the intriguing history of archaeology and anthropology that explores the “curious and often stormy relationship between American Indians and the non-Indians bent on studying them.” Thomas positions himself throughout the book as an individual seeking compromise and collaboration, and hopes that anthropologists and non-anthropologists can somehow meet in the middle and figure out a plan as to how they will continue to go about their investigations of North America. The continuous debate over archaeologists and American Indians is discussed and, most importantly, the most well-known names in those fields since the discovery of the Caucasoid skeleton. This conflict became

on criminal investigations. He also worked with several Northwest tribes, offering them safety and repatriation of Native American remains that had been discovered throughout the Columbia Basin. The Kennewick Man discovery turned into a nine-year court case between scientists, Native American tribes, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, all who believed they had the right to the bones. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the tribes were allowed the right to rebury the skeletal remains and deny any further scientific investigations of the man they deemed the “Ancient One.” Before this was able to happen, eight scientists filed a lawsuit, arguing the fact that they believed they had the right to conduct their investigations on the remains. They believed that the bones were a rare treasure, and investigating them could provide significant information about North America and the many peoples that inhabited it. Chatters later discovered, after uncovering remains similar to that of the Kennewick Man that were confirmed Native American ancestors, that the man was closely related to the Colville tribe in