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Oldest American Skull Found in Mexico

Posted by michael on from the nice-teeth dept.

MaximumBob writes "While digging a well near the Mexico City airport, crews found this skull, believed to be the oldest human skull ever found in the Americas. What's especially exciting is that since it was found outside the United States, it's not subject to U.S. laws which allow local tribes to rebury remains and keep them from being studied. The skull will be studied by scientists and may shed new light on alternatives to the "land bridge" hypothesis of American settlement."

6 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. So what happens to that U.S. Law if... by 0x69 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This find is being interpreted as (very preliminary) evidence for a newer theory - that the Americas were inhabited by people related to the Ainu, long BEFORE the people we now call "Native Americans" showed up.

    What happens to that 'Native Americans get dibs on any old bones found in the U.S.' law if the earlier-Ainu theory pans out? This could get into some really interesting "politically unacceptable scientific facts"...

    --
    It's easy to make up & spread cool- and credible-sounding stuff. Finding & checking hard facts is hard work.
    1. Re:So what happens to that U.S. Law if... by the+phantom · · Score: 5, Informative

      The law remains and not much happens. NAGPRA (The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act) asserts that all prehistoric remains in all the museums in the US are to be "repatriated;" that is to say, they must be given over to the tribe that can make the best claim to decendence from the remains. Furthermore, any new remains that are found must be handed over after a limited time for scientific analysis.

      NAGPRA makes it very clear (or at least later legal interpretation of NAGPRA makes it very clear) that all prehistoric remains are to be "repatriated," regardless of actual evidence of decent. Case in Point: Kennewick Man. Kennewick Man is a ~10,000 year old skeleton found in Washington state. Anthropologically speaking, it is impossible to show that he has any relation to any living group. In fact, he is completely unlike any living person on Earth (see Jim Chatters' book, Ancient Encounters; while Chatters may not be the best scientist in the world, he is just about the only one to publish anything on Kennewick Man). However, it was originally ruled that Kennewick Man must be given over to modern Indian groups that live in the area. Recent court decisions have gone back and forth a bit, but the general outlook is not good.

      In my opinion, NAGPRA is one of the most regressive, anti-scientific laws ever written. When determining where a skeleton or other remains ultimatly end up, it is assumed that all remains will go somewhere. If archaeological or anthropological evidence cannot place remains among any living, federally recognized Indian group, native folklore is taken at face value and the group that claims to have lived in an area "since time immemorial" has the greatest claim.

      This is particularly upsetting in the case of Kennewick Man, where archaeological evidence implies that the folk who live in that part of WA now have only been there for the last 2 or 3 thousand years!

      Again, to come back to the question that was asked: The laws, as they are written, are not affected by any new theories. Furthermore, the idea of several migrations has been around for a while and is accepted by a large group of archaeologists, even before the evidence of this skull.

      Note: I am an archaeologist, and have rather strong feelings on the subject. Sorry to rant.

      --
      Rhapsody in Numbers
  2. Enjoy it while it lasts, skull... by seanmeister · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... it's only a matter of time until Strom Thurmond kicks the bucket and takes your crown.

  3. Re:what's wrong with reburial? by 0x69 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are two issues here:
    1.) Is it okay to dig up ancient graves, remains, etc. to learn about long-gone humans, cultures, etc.? It seems fairly well accepted that it *is* okay when there are nothing remotely resembling next-of-kin to object.
    2.) How much of a (scientific) reality check should there be on any group claiming next-of-kin legal rights over the ancient graves, remains, etc.? You often have to study to determine whether someone has the right to forbid any study...

    --
    It's easy to make up & spread cool- and credible-sounding stuff. Finding & checking hard facts is hard work.
  4. This is getting ridiculous. by flux4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    While digging... near the Mexico City airport, crews found this skull, believed to be the oldest human skull ever found in the Americas.

    Perhaps *now* the airlines will admit that interflight delays are getting out of hand?

  5. Better link by riptalon · · Score: 5, Informative

    The BBC version of this story is more detailed and has somewhat less wild speculation.