KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — A human jawbone found in the Columbia River near Kennewick has been determined to be Native American, 150 to 200 years old.
The determination was made by an anthropologist hired by the Corps of Engineers.
The corps owns the property where the lower jawbone with six teeth was found in October, in the same general area where the 9,300-year-old Kennewick Man skeleton was found in 1996.
The Tri-City Herald reports (http://is.gd/QghWZA ) the corps has consulted with several tribes who may claim the jawbone after a legal notification.
Tribes also claimed Kennewick Man, but a court ruled those bones may remain at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington for scientific study about the earliest people in North America.
