Treatment Of Human Remains Research Articles

The Missing and the Marginalized: A Biocultural Approach to Forensic Anthropology at the US/Mexico Border

Violence and trauma are nestled in human rights violations worldwide. Since the 1980s, several international and domestic organizations have formed to conduct investigations following instances of political unrest and sociocultural violence. These inhumane events are evidenced by structural violence, an invisible trauma that exacerbates societal discrepancies within a population and can manifest harm to marginalized groups. Structural violence can be observed in both living individuals and through the treatment of human remains. Individuals who are missing or remain unidentified from violent outbreaks are often from marginalized groups. Therefore, a biocultural approach is necessary as it emphasizes the interplay between biology, environment, and culture. Recent work on human rights violations in the Americas has focused on fatalities due to increased migration at the US/Mexico border. Multiple organizations from the United States and other countries have developed strategies to assist in the recovery, identification, and repatriation of migrants. We aim to highlight the biocultural approach in these humanitarian actions, especially the practice of forensic anthropology, with structural violence and humanitarian identification efforts related to the missing and unidentified persons found along the US/Mexico border.

Archaeology in 2021: Repatriation, reclamation, and reckoning with historical trauma

AbstractArchaeology in 2021 was characterized by a continued call to use the tools of the discipline to document the violence of settler colonialism in the past and present, pushing anthropology to reckon with its own role in perpetuating historical trauma. The tension between disciplinary reflection and reform was most clearly articulated in the use of archaeological geophysics to detect the unmarked graves of incarcerated Indigenous children who died at residential and boarding schools in Canada and the United States. The highly publicized investigation of these schools has brought renewed attention to issues of repatriation and historical reclamation for many communities impacted by settler colonialism. These discussions have reverberated throughout the discipline, prompting revisions to the Society for American Archaeology's “Statement Concerning the Treatment of Human Remains,” reopening conversations around an African American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and informing debates around the ethics of DNA research. These conversations are part of a larger movement toward decolonizing the field by using archaeological methods to explore marginalized histories and support communities most impacted by the violences of settler colonialism.

The Plunder of Maqdala: Ethical Concerns Around Belongings and Ancestral Remains in Museums

During the colonial period, museums did not just passively benefit from the plunder of human remains and culturally sacred items. When Britain sent a punitive military expedition to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in 1863, it was accompanied by Richard Holmes, a staff member of the British Museum, whose purchase of loot from the expeditionary force institutionalised the plunder of cultural heritage. His inclusion in the expeditionary force was carefully planned, though the belongings he took — mainly manuscripts, religious items and emblems of power belonging to the Ethiopian royal family — were not the intended focus of his participation. Whilst the UK’s 2004 Human Tissue Act had a beneficial impact on the treatment of human remains in museums, objects belonging to colonised people are often still positioned as artworks or artefacts, evidencing ignorance of the deep personal and spiritual links that connect them back to their communities of origin. This article draws on our professional experience of curation and research in museums and libraries, as well as the impact of ICOM’s new Museum Definition on our practice. Joint research on the Maqdala expedition led us to question assumptions about the legacy of empire in museums and to scrutinise unexpected connections in the history of museum collections. This article addresses the problematic relationship between collecting and imperial power, the false dichotomy between ‘artefacts’ (belongings) and ‘human remains’ (ancestors) and the need to decolonise collections through further research and the recognition of ongoing cultural and physical violence.

The Treatment of Human Remains under the Ecclesiastical Law of England

Human remains interred in parish churchyards or in consecrated portions of local authority cemeteries are within the faculty jurisdiction of the consistory courts of the Church of England. A faculty is required for the disturbance of human remains lying within the faculty jurisdiction. This article will examine the law surrounding consecrated burial grounds in England and the disinterment of human remains therefrom and what this demonstrates about the principles of the ecclesiastical law of England relating to their protection. If ecclesiastical law provides for the protection of human remains, what is the justification for that and how adequate is the protection? The article will compare the consistory courts’ treatment of human remains with the regulation of remains outside the faculty jurisdiction, and attempt to relate canonical principles towards human remains with the legal character of consecrated ground. It will investigate whether the modern treatment of human remains is different from the treatment of remains in the past. By these comparisons I hope to better explore what justifications exist for the approach the consistory courts have taken in regulating disturbance of human remains.

Going Down the Drain: Sweeney Todd, Sewerage, and London Sanitation in the 1840s

This article examines the penny blood The String of Pearls in terms of its treatment of human remains as the equivalent of human excrement, arguing that the serial acts as an intervention into the debate about waste management and treatment in 1840s London.

The trial of the skull studied by the founder of Criminal Anthropology: The war of the Lombroso Museum

More than a century after the death of Cesare Lombroso, who still today is considered the founder of Criminal Anthropology, the debate on the atavisms theory seems far from over. The theories of Lombroso that, in the middle of the nineteenth century, have affected the course of investigations and criminal trials have once again been used to achieve success in the courtroom with the recent decision issued by the Italian Court on 16th May 2017. At the center of the judicial dispute is the legitimacy of detention of the skull of Giuseppe Villella exhibited at the “Cesare Lombroso” Museum of Criminal Anthropology in Turin. The ethical implications already involved in the materialist determinism of the Lombrosian thesis re-emerged today and intertwined with a plurality of historical, ideological, cultural, scientific and social issues that invest the relationship with our own history and with our cultural identity. The authors analyze the main ethical issues on the museum detention and on the treatment of human remains, pointing out the possible ways of reconciliation and mediation of the disputes on this matter.

Preliminary evidence for the efficacy of the Canine Surrogacy Approach in the Great Lakes

Isotopic analyses of human remains have been used to gain insights into aspects of subsistence and provide insights into mechanisms behind changes in material culture. Midwest archaeologists have used them to track major shifts such as the introduction of maize and associated changes in social organization. However, these destructive tests can create ethical and legal issues concerning the treatment of human remains. The Canine Surrogacy Approach (CSA) is the use of domestic dog remains as a proxy for human remains. Dog isotope values generally mirror their human companions', thereby circumventing the need to destroy human remains without sacrificing scientific research. This paper addresses the efficacy of CSA in the western Great Lakes.

Will the God Win?: The Case of the Buddhist Mummy

Abstract:This article concerns the case of a stolen 1,000-year-old Buddhist mummy, known as the statue of Zhanggong-zushi, which caught the attention of the international community. The statue of Zhanggong-zushi is the embodiment of God in the eyes of the locals, and the treatment of human remains is controversial and sensitive. This case opens a discussion as to how Western courts should consider religious interests in the disputes of stolen cultural property. It is very important for the art world to understand how locals feel about the loss of their culture or religion.

Conservación e investigación en el área de Antropología Biológica del Museo Etnográfico J. B. Ambrosetti (Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Se detalla parte de las actividades realizadas durante el año 2012 en el marco de un proyecto de conservación en el Área de Antropología Biológica del Museo Etnográfico J. B. Ambrosetti, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Este Plan Integral de Manejo de Colecciones Osteológicas se propone desarrollar un protocolo basado en el tratamiento ético de los restos humanos, destacándose los conceptos de custodia, identidad y respeto, que cubre aspectos articulados en cuatro ejes principales: ética, educación/investigación, conservación y patrimonio. Dentro de ese marco, se discuten los procedimientos específicos implementados tendientes a la salvaguarda y minimización del deterioro de un conjunto de restos humanos afectados por agentes medioambientales. Se enfatiza en la interacción entre especialistas de diferentes disciplinas para desarrollar tareas de conservación desde una perspectiva integradora. Esta forma de abordar las colecciones establece nuevas estrategias que contemplan la necesidad de desarrollar tareas de conservación y analizar la información científica en un marco que priorice los aspectos bioéticos de las políticas de manejo patrimonial. Los resultados son prometedores para la caracterización de las colecciones, lo cual incluye la identificación, documentación, conservación y guarda de restos humanos prehistóricos procedentes de diferentes regiones del mundo. La aplicación de esta propuesta surge desde la bioantropología para abordar las investigaciones de restos humanos desde una perspectiva integral. Se pretende contribuir a generar conciencia entre los investigadores de restos humanos sobre la importancia de su participación en la generación de protocolos de conservación.

New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain: A histological case study

Iron Age (c. 700 BC–43AD) funerary practice has long been a focus of debate in British archaeology. Formal cemeteries are rare and in central-southern Britain human remains are often unearthed in unusual configurations. They are frequently recovered as isolated fragments, partially articulated body parts or complete skeletons in atypical contexts, often storage pits. In recent years, taphonomic analysis of remains has been more frequently employed to elucidate depositional practice (e.g. Madgwick, 2008, 2010; Redfern, 2008). This has enhanced our understanding of modes of treatment and has contributed much-needed primary data to the discussion. However, only macroscopic taphonomic analysis has been undertaken and equifinality (i.e. different processes producing the same end result) remains a substantial obstacle to interpretation. This research explores the potential of novel microscopic (histological) methods of taphonomic analysis for providing greater detail on the treatment of human remains in Iron Age Britain. Twenty human bones from two Iron Age sites: Danebury and Suddern Farm, in Hampshire, central-southern Britain were examined and assessed using thin section light microscopy combined with the Oxford Histological Index (OHI). Results suggest that diverse mortuary rites were practised and that different configurations of remains were subject to prescribed, varied treatment, rather than resulting from different stages of the same process. Practices that may be responsible for these patterns include exhumation followed by selective removal of elements and sheltered exposure prior to final burial. Only one sample provided evidence for excarnation, a practice that has been widely cited as a potential majority rite in Iron Age Britain.

The business of bodies: Ethical perspectives on for-profit body donation companies.

Human cadavers are a scarce resource that have educational, research and clinical value. While the tissues have great value, it is illegal in many countries to pay for them. In the United States, a number of for-profit body acquisition companies have been established over the past decade. These companies obtain bodies which were freely donated by the individuals or their families. The companies distribute the specimens to surgical training organizations, researchers and educational institutions. These businesses do not charge the receiving organizations for the bodies; they do, however, charge a fee that covers the transport, handling and other services which creates a profit for their companies. These types of businesses are described and analyzed as to whether they constitute an ethically appropriate mechanism to obtain and distribute bodies. The role of organizations and governments in establishing policies and regulations for the appropriate treatment of human remains is addressed. Recommendations are given for best practices in the ethical use and regulation of willed bodies.

Etnicidad y política en torno al tratamiento de restos humanos de interés arqueológicos y bioantropológico. Pasado, presente y futuro de los pueblos indígenas

Etnicidad y política en torno al tratamiento de restos humanos de interés arqueológicos y bioantropológico. Pasado, presente y futuro de los pueblos indígenas

A History Not to be Forgotten: Mass Burials in Mongolia

˜ ˜ ˜ ® n the summer of 2003, while Smithsonian physical anthropologist Bruno Frohlich was surveying burial mounds in the Hovsgol aimag (province), he was informed by Naran Bazarsad of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences that mass burials had been discovered earlier that year at Hambiin Ovoo outside Ulaanbaatar. The mass burials had been excavated by monks, but there were many concerns that the mass graves had not been documented adequately for historic and forensic purposes. A few miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, construction workers removing fill for housing construction had found the remains of many individuals with Buddhist monks’ clothing and religious objects. They notified the lamas at Ulaanbaatar’s Gandan Monastery, whose leader Lama Purevbat decided to have the monastery lamas retrieve as many bodies as possible and render Buddhist ceremonies and burial practices for the dead. The number of crania and femora (thigh bones) uncovered in their work suggested that the grave site contained more than 600 individuals. Following the removal of the bodies with large construction equipment, the lamas performed rituals for the dead and cremated the remains at the mass grave site. Subsequent negotiations between the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and Lama Purevbat and his associates from the Gandan Monastary resulted in a plan for continued excavation of the burial site at a later time through the application of modern forensic techniques and evidence collection. As part of this negotiation, Bruno Frohlich visited the Gandan Monastery where Lama Purevbat gave him a fascinating introduction to Buddhist mortuary practices, Buddhist anatomical learning, and the traditional treatment of human remains. The Mongolian Academy of Sciences agreed to coordinate with the Gandan Monastery and notify the Smithsonian Institution when the scientists could proceed with further study. A few months later, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences approved the continued documentation and investigation. Frohlich and Naran were to organize survey and excavation at the Hambiin Ovoo site with the assistance of Smithsonian physical anthropologist David Hunt and Erdene Batshatar, Tsend Amgalantugs, Enkhtur Altangerel, Batsukh Dunburee, and Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan from the Institute of Archeology and the National Museum of Mongolian History.

A Review of Codes of Ethics in the United States and Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

A growing number of studies related to human remains in Korea highlight the need for developing professional ethics codes and laws that govern disposition and treatment of human remains. In order to provide models for developing ethics codes and regulations relevant to the field of biological anthropology in Korea, the current paper presents a review of ethics codes in the United States related to the procurement, curation, and study of human remains. In the first half of the paper, we provide a full treatment of ethics codes of major professional organizations, including code definition, development, and revision. The latter half of the paper is dedicated to discussions of ethical issues surrounding a United States federal law, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and a high-profile case of the Kennewick man, the Ancient One. These two examples will demonstrate the difficulty in anticipating ethical issues and unintended misconduct in the course of research. NAGPRA and the Kennewick Man further emphasize three simple yet important take- home points for biological anthropologists and other professionals working with human remains: 1) to be reflective about potential ethical issues related to their research, 2) to be collaborative and encourage involvement of descendant communities at all stages of research, and 3) to be respectful of different worldviews of death between (sub)cultures. Finally, we close our discussion with possible sources of ethical conflicts in Korea to help prepare biological anthropologists as more excavations of human remains take place in Korea.

Resolving the Human Remains Crisis in British Archaeology: A reply

General confusion concerning the proper treatment of human remains of archaeological significance prompted the Church of England and English Heritage to co-ordinate a working group which produced a document called ‘Guidance for best practice for treatment of human remains excavated from Christian burial grounds in England’, published in 2005. This established best practice for dealing within the current secular and ecclesiastical legislation with Christian burials, but also with wider application. It also led to the eventual formation of the Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England (APABE, see http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ apabe/). At this time the Home Office (later the Ministry of Justice) was working on revision of the secular legislation. During this process, concerns were raised that the current system of granting licences might not be lawful, and in 2008 an interim system was introduced whereby licences could be granted to archaeologists to hold human remains for two years, which could then be renewed on application. It was intended that these two years would allow time for the legislation to be amended. There is no doubt that this interim arrangement caused a certain amount of confusion and disquiet, with some people referring erroneously to a “Burial Act 2008”. No such piece of legislation exists. However, this planned legislative overhaul was dropped by the government in 2010, causing more concern among archaeologists. Following pressure from various organisations including EH, the IFA, ALGAO and APABE, the Ministry of Justice introduced a new licencing system in the summer of 2011, which allowed for the retention of human remains by archaeologists, putting the responsibility for justification and control for such retention on the local authority. This is a good resolution, which archaeologists should be happy to support.1

Interactions with the Dead: A Taphonomic Analysis of Burial Practices in Three Megalithic Tombs in County Clare, Ireland

Burial is a highly symbolic activity through which concepts of the world are reflected in the representation and treatment of human remains. While mortuary studies in archaeology and anthropology have had a long history, our understanding of Neolithic societies through such analyses is lacking. This article has attempted to broaden our understandings of one such society, focusing upon the megalithic tomb tradition in Ireland, through an integrated study of the burial practices taking place at several sites located on the Burren, County Clare. The Parknabinnia chambered tomb, Poulnabrone portal tomb, and Poulawack Linkardstown-type cairn are located within three kilometres of each other and date to contemporary periods. Several questions are explored through the use of archaeological evidence, osteological analysis, and taphonomy to allow for a broader appreciation of social practices in the past – most notably burial practices. What types of burial practices were taking place; how do the sites compare to each other; and how do they fit within the overall scheme of Neolithic practices we have come to understand?

Interactions with the Dead: A Taphonomic Analysis of Burial Practices in Three Megalithic Tombs in County Clare, Ireland

Burial is a highly symbolic activity through which concepts of the world are reflected in the representation and treatment of human remains. While mortuary studies in archaeology and anthropology have had a long history, our understanding of Neolithic societies through such analyses is lacking. This article has attempted to broaden our understandings of one such society, focusing upon the megalithic tomb tradition in Ireland, through an integrated study of the burial practices taking place at several sites located on the Burren, County Clare. The Parknabinnia chambered tomb, Poulnabrone portal tomb, and Poulawack Linkardstown-type cairn are located within three kilometres of each other and date to contemporary periods. Several questions are explored through the use of archaeological evidence, osteological analysis, and taphonomy to allow for a broader appreciation of social practices in the past – most notably burial practices. What types of burial practices were taking place; how do the sites compare to each other; and how do they fit within the overall scheme of Neolithic practices we have come to understand?

Exhibitions of human bodies: popular and controversial

Korperwelten or Body Worlds by Guenther von Hagens’ or exhibition of plastinated human bodies and body parts, which has been touring around the world with constantly updated collection, shocks and fascinates people worldwide. “After my death I would prefer to be like this than to be consumed and metabolized by worms and tiny organisms.” This is how one of the donors of his own body for the controversial exhibition explained his decision to let his dead body plastinated and, thoroughly sectioned, displayed at the exhibition. Some 40 “complete examples” of something which used to be living persons, cut into transparent 3-mm slices or sectioned in layers and posed in an imaginative way, as well as several hundred organs become open to the curiosity of the public in Europe and worldwide [2]. Only in Japan, the exhibition drew the record number of 2.5 million visitors. We must not forget a cadaver represents person that lived and deserves proper dignity and respect [3]. Von Hagens’ exhibition provoked number of stormy debates—moral, theological, legal and esthetical ones. During Berlin exhibition, a radio station established a special desk for visitors who wanted to record their own comments on ethical aspects of the show, which were then directly broadcasted in the programme. Question of morality of such preparation and displaying human bodies divided not only the public, but also theologists and ethicists; namely, there is a hard legal and ethical debate on somebody’s right to display objects that used to be living persons, and who are (according to the author himself) “stopped somewhere between death and Wnal decomposition” in such manner. The conservatives claim about blasphemy, mockery of the divine and the human, whereas the more liberal ones consider his work a “facing with the reality in a radical way and overcoming the death-corps taboo”. The most beloved display amongst visitors is the rider on a powerful horse (of course sectioned in detail, also). The rider holds the horse’s brain in his right hand and his own in the other. I hope you will agree with me that no one of us teaches his students about brain from this perspective and in that manner. Not less attention receives sagittal cross-section of male and female body joined in a sexual relationship. I wonder: who were those people? Were they brother and sister? Did they realise in which way their bodies will be plastinated and displayed? I teach my students to respect the dead body, thus I was deeply confused. I simply felt ashamed for such an attitude towards a dead human being. Would some of us like to have his body presented to the million of viewers in such manner? Few months ago, I visited Thailand and I witnessed medical students praying before dissecting the dead body. It appeared to me so compassionate and human. There is a question of the limits of playing with dead or living human body. Can you imagine a plastic surgeon who wants to reconstruct the auricle in the middle of the forehead? I mean, everything is possible, but it is not ethical. It is very interesting that exhibiting bodies of sometime living persons could be an excellent money-making scheme. Departments all around the world have to formulate oYcial ethical standards on the treatment of human remains [1]. Commercial eVects result from entrance tickets, DVDs and printed publications, as well as diverse souvenirs with motifs from the exhibition. The printed cups with a man holding his own skin, watches with white lungs of a nonsmoker and black smoker lungs, posters and t-shirts are only some pieces sold at the luxury-item prices. D. KrivokuTa (&) · M. EriT Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia e-mail: drdragan.k@neobee.net

Human osteoarchaeology in the UK 2001–2007: a bibliometric perspective

AbstractBibliometric analysis of osteoarchaeology publications covering the period 2001–2007 in leading journals was carried out. The aims were two‐fold: firstly, to characterise research in this field in the UK and make comparisons with selected other countries, and secondly, to shed light on the use of skeletal collections. It was found that, since a previous survey of this type,covering the period 1991–1995, isotopic and DNA studies have increased. In the UK, work on biodistance studies is minor compared with other countries, and the proportion of palaeopathology work is high. In palaeopathology, substantial effort continues to be devoted to case studies, particularly in the UK where the frequency of problem‐orientated work directed at understanding earlier populations has not increased since the early 1990s. Although it is argued that the case study still has a place in osteoarchaeology, the balance of work needs to shift further in favour of population studies, particularly in the UK. Skeletal collections are vital for primary osteoarchaeological work, and there was little evidence for any great use of skeletal databases such as the Standard Osteological Database. Skeletal collections from the UK were the most used for the research papers analysed, demonstrating the importance of UK‐held collections for research that leads to high profile publication in the international scientific literature. These observations are pertinent since legal, ethical and practical issues in the treatment of human remains, particularly those connected with retention of skeletal collections, are now coming under closer scrutiny in the UK. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Use and Abuse of Archaeology for Indigenous Peoples—Auckland, New Zealand, November 8 to 12, 2005

The World Archaeological Congress' 2nd Indigenous Intercongress, The Uses and Abuses of Archaeology for Indigenous Peoples, convened between November 8 and 12, 2005, at the University of Auckland and Waipapa Marae to examine issues relating to and concerned with indigenous peoples and their past. The organization committee included coconvenors Dr. Joe Watkins, Dr. Caroline Phillips, and Dr. Des Kahotea along with Academic Program Chair Stephanie Ford and Conference Administrator Margaret Rika-Heke. The first Intercongress, on Archaeological Ethics and the Treatment of the Dead, was held in 1989 in Vermillion, South Dakota, and focused on the topics of reburial and repatriation. The Vermillion Accord on the treatment of human remains, an outgrowth of that conference, forms one of the primary ethics documents for the World Archaeological Congress, by which members of the WAC agree to abide in conjunction with the WAC First Code of Ethics.