Chapter Nine The Academic Debate ITHIN the realm of academia, the debate regarding the Wlegends of Lemuria and Atlantis should be clear: there is no proof; therefore, it never existed. The advancements made within scientific academia however tell a different story. Archaeological discoveries allude to a new historical variation that many are at a loss to explain. For example, if archaeologists were investigating a site and discovered something exceeding the historical records, in other words was ―too ridiculously old,‖ it would be put aside and forgotten. But what if collectively, there is enough of the same anomalous data that could shed light onto a different perspective? It would be difficult to say for sure what becomes of these pieces of evidence that do not make it into the records. Artifacts often end up uncatalogued in the basement of a university‘s collection, lost within piles of boxes. Many believe that archaeological research in a specific location takes place over a long period of time so that nothing can be missed. This true in that archaeologists have all the The Academic Debate 169 time needed to conduct proper investigations given that the investigations are taken place in a national park or other restricted areas of land. Many times, archaeologists working in the field work within various Cultural Resource Management (or CRM) groups and do not have the luxury of time. The purpose of CRM groups is to quickly research and investigate a given location for a client, in order to collect anything of historical importance. For instance, a private company is planning to build a set of structures within a given set of acres of land. Upon digging, some workers uncover skeletal remains alongside pottery shards. The private company then puts a halt on all further work in the area, resulting in a great loss of money for the company, and hires a CRM group to investigate. A team of archaeologists are called in to find anything important, and are limited to a strict deadline, usually ranging from two to four weeks. In many instances, the archaeologists are working in front of a bulldozer if the deadlines are even more limited. If skeletal remains are found, another set of procedures must be adhered to because of the complexity of NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) laws. The team usually picks out a few locations to dig and investigate, while avoiding the rest. Because of time constraints, they have to limit their digs to a few locations to see if anything is found. After the investigation is complete, the bulldozers come in and destroy what remains. This is not limited to private companies, but governmental agencies also use similar tactics. If the state is building or expanding on a freeway, again the same measures are taken and anything that is not retrieved is destroyed. When the archaeologists conduct their investigations they usually work with an academic frame of mind. If they know a group of indigenous lived within a given area during a certain time period, they correspondingly dig within those layers of the soil. I have heard several stories of archaeologists finding more than they were looking for. I recall a private The Academic Debate 170 discussion with a university archaeology professor, telling me a story from his past. He had been working within a CRM team located in Nevada where they were called in to investigate an area for possible Native American remains. The team would dig until they hit a rock-hard layer of volcanic ash. According to historical records, they knew that the volcano had erupted before Native Americans inhabited the land. As a result, they understood that nothing could exist prior to the time of the ancient volcanic eruption. As their deadline was coming to an end, one of the archaeologists decided to randomly start breaking through the hard layers of volcanic rock. It was an arduous task, but eventually he broke through the layer. What he found amazed all the other archaeologists working nearby: he had discovered the ruins of an ancient dwelling or civilization where none was suppose to exist. By that time, their deadline was up, and everything was covered and abandoned. DNA & Skeletal Analysis Some of the most amazing discoveries are made by ordinary people when least expected. Some of these findings completely change the way we look at human history as we know it. On July 28th, 1996, two men attempted to get a closer look at a boat race on the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. They noticed something unusual protruding from the eroded river bank and quickly notified the authorities. At first glance, archaeologist James Chatters assumed it was a European settler who had died during the 1800‘s. Radiocarbon tests determined that the body was over nine thousand years old.1 The man had a projectile point embedded in his hip, several months prior to his death. He had apparently died in his mid 40‘s from an infection. What was very odd about the individual was that he did not resemble modern day Native Americans; in fact, the skeletal remains looked like that of a The Academic Debate 171 ―Caucasian.‖ A media frenzy ensued, referring to the skeletal remains as Kennewick Man. Various Native American tribes, including the Nez, Perce, and Yakama tribes claimed relation and ownership to the skeletal remains, abiding to NAGPRA law. Federal hearings took place to determine which of the five tribes claiming relations should be granted the remains. The federal judge stated that further investigations over the remains should take place before scientists could accurately determine the tribal descendants. The case of Kennewick Man marks the first time that these ―Caucasian‖ remains were fully publicized; however, it was not the first or nor last time ancient ―Caucasian‖ remains have been found in the United States. In 1959, archaeologists uncovered skeletal remains of a ―Caucasian‖ man dating back over 10,000 BCE on Santa Rosa Island, off the coast of California. There were clear indications of stone tools in the area dating back between 12,500 and 29,700 BP (Before Present). 2 Another case is that of Spirit Cave mummy found in Nevada, in 1940, dating back 9,415 +/-25 years BP.3 Similar to Kennewick Man, the tribal affiliation of the Spirit Cave mummy could not be determined. An investigation by the Nevada Bureau of Land Management to determine tribal descendants concluded the following: While it is difficult to associate ethnicity or language with archaeological materials, the BLM‘s review of the available evidence indicates sufficient discontinuity such that it is unlikely that the tribes occupying the Spirit Cave area in historic times are from same culture as the people who buried their dead in Spirit Cave in the early Holocene or that they are the direct descendants of that group. Therefore, BLM‘s review of the available evidence indicates that the culture history of the western Great The Academic Debate 172 Basin shows a pattern of changes in cultural adaptations that does not support cultural continuity over the last 10,000 years. The level of discontinuity is sufficient to warrant the conclusion that the remains from Spirit Cave cannot be reasonably affiliated with any modern tribe or individual.4 The biological data concluded that ―there is no available biological information which clearly supports cultural continuity with contemporary North American Indians.‖5 The evidence clearly shows that the mummy was not related to modern day Native Americas. ―Analysis showed the Spirit Cave cranium closest to ‗Norse‘ and ‗Ainu.‘ It should be noted that the probability for Norse was 0.00084, with Ainu an even lower probability… though they are distinctive from recent American Indian samples, it is also clear that the recent samples most closely resembling these two specimens are Polynesians and Australians, both populations distinguished by their relatively narrow faces, longer crania, and more projecting faces.‖6 Other remains found in Nevada have raised questions as to the tribal affiliation compared to modern day Native Americans. Wizard‘s Beach Man has an 84.45% craniofacial phenotype similar to modern day Native Americans; it also has a 76% probability of being related to typical Polynesians. The rest of the ancient skeletons found in Nevada maintain 88.5% similarity to modern day Australasians (from Australia and Melanesia).7 Similar findings are located North and South America and even as far north as Alaska. 8 Likewise, some skeletal remains are said to be taller than average, and some mummified remains are said to also possess red hair. The search for the oldest skeleton in the Americas still continues. Interestingly enough, other claims presenting ―the oldest‖ skeletons are also seen as ―Caucasian.‖ In December, 2004, in Mexico City, a skull dating back over 13,000 years The Academic Debate 173 ago was discovered and named ―Peñon Woman III.‖ It was the oldest skull found in the Americas, and again, the similar characteristics of the Ainu people were noticeable, bringing up the theory that perhaps they traveled via the coast.9 In another article by National Geographic from 2008, researchers recovered other ―Caucasian-like‖ remains, this time underwater in a cave off the coast of Yucatán Peninsula. The skeletal remains were dubbed ―Eve of of Naharo,‖ and radiocarbon dating estimated it to be 13,600 years old. Three other skeletons found nearby have been radiocarbon dated as being from between 11,000 to 14,000 years ago. Sea levels were 200 feet lower around the area at the time of their existence which was once a wide open prairie. Dramatic melting of the polar ice caps roughly 8,000 to 9,000 years ago caused the sea levels to rise and flood the caves.