Submitted by: Submitted by bsonyab
Views: 511
Words: 437
Pages: 2
Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 12/23/2010 02:45 PM
Despite all the technology available to test DNA for parentage and genetic characteristics, there
is still no definitive test to determine ethnic origin. While there are many claims about the accuracy of
DNA testing to determine origin, those tests are simply comparing strands of DNA or patterns to others
Already identified. “Tests tend to ignore the fact that many DNA sequences are found in many
different human populations” (McAndrew, 2007). Similar DNA sequences may be found in those of
Asian ancestry and those of Native American descent. Though DNA tests may help discover what
Parts of the world one’s ancestors lived in, there is no way to know for sure that they belonged to one
ethnic group or another. Therefore, I believe Kennewick man should be donated to the Smithsonian
Institute, so that all U.S. citizens can have the opportunity to view the skeleton and consider the
possibilities. If not included in a scientific institution, he should remain in the federal repository until
a suitable solution for the remains can be determined.
There is no strong evidence that this skull belongs to that of an Indian tribe in the Washington
Region, therefore, no tribe should have the right to burial of the remains under any legislative act,
as origin of the remains is still mostly a mystery. Many of these characteristics are definitive of modern-
day caucasoid peoples, while others, such as the orbits are typical of neither race” (Chatters, 2004).
Even if some aspects of racial or ethnic background can be determined, nobody can know where the
man came from or which parts of the globe he had lived in, prior to meeting his demise in Washington.
Because DNA of different groups from opposite corners of the world can be so similar, anyone can find
Surprised in DNA testing, in relation to where their ancestors may have lived. In addition, as Chatters
points out in the NOVA article, there are different methods of facial reconstruction, which...