Science vs Culture

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...