The 12,600-year-old remains of an infant boy were reburied Saturday in a Native American ceremony in the U.S. after scientists recovered DNA from the child discovered in Montana in 1968.
The boy's remains were put back as close as possible to the original burial site. Two film crews, about 30 American Indian tribal representatives and others attended the ceremony, The Billings Gazette reported.
"I hope that this is the final closure for you, too, as it is for us," said Crow tribal elder Thomas Larson Medicine Horse Sr., addressing the family on whose property the child was found.
The DNA taken from the boy provided new indications of the ancient roots of today's American Indians and other native people of the Americas. It was the oldest genome ever recovered from the New World and proved he was closely related to indigenous Americans.
The boy was between 1 and 1-1/2-years-old when he died of an unknown cause. Artifacts found with the body show the boy was part of the Clovis culture, which existed in North America from about 13,000 years ago to about 12,600 years ago.
Source
The boy's remains were put back as close as possible to the original burial site. Two film crews, about 30 American Indian tribal representatives and others attended the ceremony, The Billings Gazette reported.
"I hope that this is the final closure for you, too, as it is for us," said Crow tribal elder Thomas Larson Medicine Horse Sr., addressing the family on whose property the child was found.
The DNA taken from the boy provided new indications of the ancient roots of today's American Indians and other native people of the Americas. It was the oldest genome ever recovered from the New World and proved he was closely related to indigenous Americans.
The boy was between 1 and 1-1/2-years-old when he died of an unknown cause. Artifacts found with the body show the boy was part of the Clovis culture, which existed in North America from about 13,000 years ago to about 12,600 years ago.
Source
The reporter's comment, "the boy provided new indications of the ancient roots of today's American Indians and other native people of the Americas" misses the significance of the results of the genetic testing. The testing indicated the child's ancestors originated in Asia. This finding has major impacts on theories about how this hemisphere was inhabited by humans.