The controversial 'reburial issue' first developed about thirty years ago when some indigenous groups started to campaign for the return of their ancestral human remains from museums and collecting institutions, and these requests were refused. Since then, museums in some countries have responded positively to repatriation requests while those in others continue to refuse them. This incisive book provides the reader with what has been generally missing in the current debate and available literature - a detailed historical understanding of how and why these collections were amassed, and the responses of indigenous groups and collectors at the time. The book focusses particularly on Australia as a background to its documentation and examination of the issue. The reburial question has had wide repercussions for all involved. Today, the topic is of continuing relevance for archaeologists, anthropologists and museum professionals, as well as for many indigenous groups worldwide. The issue highlights two very different approaches to items which hold exceptional importance in many cultures - human remains.It is also about the relationship between science and the people whose past is the subject of academic enquiry, and how the sometimes hegemonic nature of this relationship has, through the issue documented here, relentlessly bubbled to the surface. What may appear at first a simple clash of interests is thus revealed to have many deeper aspects.

Collecting the Dead: Archaeology and the Reburial Issue

Politics & Social Sciences

Fforde, Cressida

Social Sciences

Bristol Classical Press

<p>Oxbow says : Debates over the rights of indigenous people to have access to, or lay claim to their ancestors and ancient sites have been very topical in archaeology and anthropology for some time now but there is still much ground to cover. The rights, needs and objections of indigenous populations can no longer be overlooked or over-ridden. This collection of essays, all of which stem from research seminars given at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, and a series of subsiduary lectures, given in 2001, brings together a group of scholars to discuss various issues of conservation, identity and ownership in indigenous archaeology. A series of case studies from Japan, Siberia, Canada, Australia, North and South America and Africa, draw attention to issues of people's access to their cultural heritage, legal rights, ethical considerations, and questions of the classification of ancient artefacts and sites. Once museums and other heritage management groups, local government and educational bodies have been brought into the mix, this becomes a very complex subject. The papers highlight the benefits of collaboration, exploring what archaeologists can learn from working alongside indigenous peoples, and examine how these issues are transforming the field of archaeology.</p>

Conservation, Identity and Ownership in Indigenous Archaeology

Sillar, Bill

Anthropology

Maney - Heritage

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