The Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis,
The School of Liberal Arts,
The Department of Anthropology, and
The IUPUI Anthropology Club
Are proud to present
David Hurst Thomas, Ph.D.
Curator, American Museum of Natural History
Author of Skull Wars
When a 9,000-year old human skeleton washed out of a Columbia River cutbank in 1996, it ignited a controversy that still rages on. Archaeologists proclaimed that “Kennewick Man” was one of the most important finds of the century and planned intensive scientific analysis. But many Native Americans declared that such studies desecrated their ancestor and demanded the bones for reburial. An acrimonious and highly public argument ensued, complete with lawsuit.
In this lecture, archaeologist David Hurst Thomas traces the five-hundred-year roots of the Kennewick Man controversy. Updating his best-selling book Skull Wars, Dr. Thomas discusses Thomas Jefferson’s invention of scientific archaeology and chronicles the brutal massacres in which skulls of Indian warriors were sent east to build America’s greatest museum collections. From the strange fates of Ishi and Qisuk to the long-standing power of native oral tradition, Thomas details the interactions between archaeologists and native people, and urges the two groups to define the common ground necessary to work together in the future.