The Dead and their Possessions: Repatriation in Principle, Policy and Practice

Abstract

The Dead and Their Possessions presents recent research by indigenous and non-indigenous people from museum, archaeological, anthropological, historical, educational, and community backgrounds. The authors examine a wide range of histories, experiences, developments, and consequences of the collecting and/or repatriation of human remains.

This book raises fundamental questions about the nature, ethics and practice of scientific enquiry, the ownership of the dead, the politics of the past and the needs of the future. The issues surrounding the collecting and repatriation of human remains are not only of vital importance to many indigenous groups, but also to the future of museum curatorship and the nature and practice of archaeology and anthropology today. This book will be invaluable not only to those involved in the teaching and research in this field, but also to museum professionals who have received repatriation requests, and to those groups who are facing the challenges of the return of human remains and cultural objects to their own communities.