Museums Confront the Skeletons in Their Closets

For more than a century, the Museum of Medical History has exhibited assorted limbs, bones, tubercular lungs and fetuses, all in the name of science and enlightenment. Yet lately the curators are re-evaluating the principles that govern their displays as they confront a growing debate over what cultural organizations should be doing to preserve the dignity of the dead. Human remains are held by many of the world’s museums, most typically those exploring natural history, science, medicine and archaeology. Collecting such remains in pursuit of scientific knowledge once went unchallenged, but now institutions face the quandary of how to display Egyptian mummies in a respectful fashion. What is the purpose of displaying shrunken heads or tattooed Maori skulls or bone flutes? And should curators return remains that have been transformed into works of folk art? Read more

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