Photo of a wooden box with yellowed index cards
Documentation of skeletal remains in Göttingen's University anthropological collection. The existing archival information is in most cases scarce and lacking information about the individual person to whom the human remains belonged. | Photo: J. Kurzwelly

Bones of Injustice: Political Frictions in Restitutions of Human Remains from Colonial Contexts

In recent years, many museums and universities have begun to address past colonial injustices by critically examining their collections of human remains, often leading to their restitution to their assumed countries of origins. Such efforts are usually framed as acts of recognition, reconciliation, and repair. However, the diverse difficulties and frictions that accompany restitutions often escape public attention. This post introduces some of such difficulties that need to be taken into account to understand the complexity of restitution processes.

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