Kennewick Man could be particularly important because he is reported to display a distinctive suite of generalized characteristics. One objective of my comparative study is to gain a better understanding of how and when modern racial characteristics developed. Although these questions have been widely debated in the scientific community for more than 150 years, their resolution has been hampered by a lack of adequate empirical data. If so, he would provide an important baseline for measuring biological developments in later populations. The government's refusal to permit me access to the Kennewick Man skeleton also impacts my ability to generate new ideas and questions for research by myself and my students.
Scientific research is more than just data collection and analyses.
It is also a process of generating new questions to be investigated and developing new methods for testing possible solutions. New insights and ideas are not created in a vacuum. They are stimulated through the process of working with data and comparing results with other scientists. Until I have had an opportunity to study the Kennewick Man skeleton, I cannot benefit or learn from the ideas it might generate. It is important that I be allowed to personally examine the skeleton.