AH! But it turns out that the AAAS up-date linked to was from 1998, and the National Park Service from 2004. So I went hunting.

The most recent information I have been able to find out about Kennewick Man is that the judgment that he was Caucasian was based mainly on resemblance. The attempted DNA analysis was inconclusive, and that being allowed to extract conclusively examinable DNA samples from the remains (if, indeed, possible) is one of the legal controversies. Current theories do not totally reject the idea that he might be Caucasian, but now include the suggestions that he may be Polynesian or related to the Ainu.

There also seems to be a certain smell of politics involved in the legal hassles. Native American tribes are seemingly not fond of the idea that they may not have been the first settlers of the area, and would rather take the remains away from the scientists before thorough study and simply re-bury them.

I haven't heard the latest legal decisions yet, if any. I may just check with the museum to see what they can tell me.

Don Firth