Revealing The Past Through DNA By David Malakoff
I
t’s a David-versus-Goliath clash that has garnered headlines. For decades, a small Native American tribe in California called the Kumeyaay has been squaring off against the University of California, San Diego, demanding the reburial of ancient human remains found during a campus building project in 1976. These aren’t just any bones. Scientists believe the so-called La Jolla skeletons—which radiocarbon dating shows are 8,730 to 9,350 years old— may hold a trove of well-preserved ancient DNA that could reveal insights into the peopling of the Americas. Many Kumeyaay, however, believe that DNA testing would be an offensive desecration and argue that federal law gives the tribe the right to control the skeletons. The academics “have continually disrespected our ancestors,” tribal official Steve Banegas told Indian Country Today last August. Some researchers, meanwhile, reject that claim, arguing that the skeletons are unrelated to the tribe and pressing officials to allow DNA studies. The university, they
26
DNA researchers and Native Americans once had a strained relationship. But recently there have been a number of instances where the two groups have worked together, and their collaborations have produced insights into the settlement of the Americas.
winter • 2011-12
