Theme:
1. Archaeologists and Archaeology Here and Now
Session format:
Discussion session (with formal abstracts)
Title:
Curation or Reburial — Current Practices and Decision Making on Storing Human Skeletons in Archaeological and Historical Collections
Content:
Repatriation, reburial, and analysis of archaeological human bones is an ongoing topic of debate. The ‘right way’ to handle human remains may take different forms in various contexts. Current ideas about morals, essentialism, human rights, religion, sanctity, ethnicity, and national identity are examples of factors that can influence the decisions on how human remains are treated and whether they are curated or reburied. For example, in the United States the Black Lives Matter movement has impacted the discussion about ethical issues of researching and curating unclaimed African American skeletons in historical collections. Other examples of human remains’ treatment are grounded in practical reasons such as lack of resources. For example, in Finland the current practice of reburying skeletons excavated from historical sites is partly driven by the lack of storage space.
This session aims to share case studies and general processes behind the decisions of whether human skeletons are curated and available for research or whether they are repatriated and/or reburied. Furthermore, issues concerning practical and ethical questions related to the treatment of human skeletons will be addressed in this session. Discussions on skeletal collections from various contexts including those without connections to present cultural or religious groups, remains from historic periods, remains from indigenous and other minority groups but also majority groups are welcomed. We encourage the presenters to discuss how these decisions affect both living individuals as well as scientific research.
Keywords:
skeletal collections, ethics, curation, reburial
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Heli Maijanen (Finland) 1
Co-organisers:
Vanessa Campanacho (United States) 2,3,4
Jenna Savolainen (Finland) 1
Liisa Seppänen (Finland) 5
Affiliations:
1. University of Oulu
2. American Museum of Natural History
3. Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra
4. Laboratory of Biological Anthropology and Human Osteology, CRIA, New University of Lisbon
5. University of Turku
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