DNA extracted from one of the oldest and most controversial skeletons ever found in North America, known as Kennewick Man, may call into question scientists’ case for access to the remains.

The fight started more than a decade ago when the military tried to return the bones to a tribe. A group of scientists successfully sued to block the reburial and to study Kennewick Man. They claimed that he bore little relation to modern-day Native Americans and was therefore not subject to federal repatriation laws.



In an ironic twist to this saga, a new genetic analysis of the prehistoric man—made possible by that lawsuit—has now undercut that argument.

“We can conclude very clearly that he is most closely related to