Since 1964, Chatters has participated in archeological studies and excavations, and provided
osteological analyses throughout the western US and the
Pacific Northwest, as well as
Hawaii,
Alaska,
Minnesota,
Texas, the province of
Saskatchewan in Canada, and the country of Brazil. After earning his Master's degree in 1975, he began participating in
paleoecological projects in the western US, along with
Kentucky and
Maryland. After they alerted a local police officer, a local dive team went out to the area, gathered more bone fragments along with the skull, then taped off the shore for protection, as a possible crime scene. At the time of the discovery, Chatters owned a forensics consulting business called Applied Paleoscience, He also consulted with Northwest tribes to assist with protection and repatriation of
Native American remains discovered throughout the
Columbia Basin. On the early evening of the discovery, the
Benton County Coroner, Floyd Johnson, called Chatters to ask him to take a look at the skull to determine if it belonged to a current or recent crime victim. Chatters, eager to help, invited Johnson to bring the skull over to his home, after which they quickly returned to the discovery site to gather more skeletal remains, before the sun would set that evening. Chatters' scientific findings brought controversy to the discovery and triggered a nine-year legal battle between scientists, the
US Army Corps of Engineers, and Native American tribes, who attempted to claim the remains as one of their ancestors, in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The US Army Corps of Engineers, who oversaw the land where the remains were found, agreed to comply with the requests of the tribes. In 2002, a federal court in the state of
Oregon ruled that the tribes failed to establish viable and definitive cultural links between themselves and Ancient One, formerly known as,
Kennewick Man. This ruling opened up the way for Chatters and the team of eight scientists to study the remains. Following an appeal in February 2004, a panel of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision. The ruling additionally set a precedent, ensuring that any future discovery of ancient remains would also be made available for scientific studies. Using
craniometry, a team had concluded that Ancient One, formerly known as
Kennewick Man, was related to Western- or South-Pacific populations such as the
Ainu or the
Polynesians. == Published works ==