9000-Year-Old Kennewick Man Sheds Light on Ancient America [VIDEO]

For almost 20 years, scientists have puzzled over the 9,000-year-old bones of an early American known as Kennewick Man. Now, a 680-page book with contributions from dozens of authors is shedding light on this controversial skeleton's origins, and providing scientists with a new window into the life of early Americans.

The findings show that Kennewick Man - meaning "Ancient One" in Native American - was about 40 years old when he died, though the cause of death remains unknown. But experts do know that other humans buried him at the gravesite where his body was found. A facial reconstruction of this ancient American, housed at the National Museum of Natural History, also provides people with an idea of what he may have looked like. Kennewick Man's skull morphology cannot be categorized into any major populations today, but most closely resembles Pacific Rim populations such as the Ainu of Japan and Polynesians, reflecting deep roots in coastal Asian groups.

"The human skeleton teaches us a wealth of information about human population dynamics across time," Douglas Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution, a forensice anthropologists who helped edit the new book, said in a news release. "Kennewick Man has become a teacher for all ages, acting as an informative ambassador to the ancient past in North America."

Owsley and his colleagues, with help from 50 physical and forensic anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists, geochemists and others, studied the nearly 300 bones and fragments of Kennewick Man and provided the most thorough analysis of any Paleoamerican skeleton to date.

Their work concluded that the 163-pound Kennewick Man was tall for his time, standing at 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was muscular, and his wide-bodied frame helped him navigate the uneven terrain along the northwest coast of North America where he hunted and fished.

Aside from fish, this Paleoamerican may have feasted on big-game as well, including deer, pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep.

According to the researchers, his hand, arm and shoulder bones suggest that he was right handed and was adept at flint knapping and spear-throwing.

Kennewick Man continues to teach scientists about the ancient American lifestyle and his relationship to ancient and modern human populations as well. Owsley and his team fully intend to keep studying this fascinating skeleton and reveal all the secrets hidden in his bones.

"Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton," was edited by Owsley and forensic anthropologist Richard Jantz.

[Credit: Spike Flitter]