LISTEN HERE
 Jessica Goyder is the latest musician to put her singles on our site. Listen here
| THE INSIDER
 Get the lowdown inside the corridors of power in Oxfordshire here.
| SEND AN OBITUARY
Send us a tribute to someone who has passed away
| ON YER BIKE
 Get the view from the gutter with cycling group Cyclox in Oxfordshire
|
|
|
|
Oxford return Maori remains
Oxford University today agreed to return to New Zealand the indigenous human remains obtained by its natural history museum during the 19th century.
The four sets of remains include two Maori skulls, a Moriori skull from the Chatham Islands off New Zealand's east coast and a section of pelvis.
Efforts by New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa, to retrieve the bones began in 2005 as part of a government policy to seek the return of Maori and Moriori remains.
The director of Oxford's Museum of Natural History, Jim Kennedy, said yesterday this was the first repatriation of human remains since a new claims procedure was established by the university in 2006.
"It has enabled us to balance our duty of care for these items, the requirements of science and the sensitivities and beliefs of the claimant community," Prof Kennedy said.
Prof Kennedy said no date had immediately been set for the return of the remains which will be held temporarily by Te Papa before being returned to the relevant Maori and Moriori tribal groups.
8:34am Friday 1st February 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: Donald Wolberg, New Mexico, USA on 1:37pm Fri 8 Feb 08
One can only wonder at the narrowness of this flood of "give it back" movement of institutions that should know better. Free and open inquiry is the only way science can function and comparative materials form the basis of all specimen based science. Perhaps those in New Zealand studying the evolution of brachiopods should return their collected material, or perhaps South Dakota dinosaurs should not be seen in New Zealand museums. In this age of easy communication, the "where" of specimens is less important than the "what" and it is likely that once all the museums are emptied of borrowed or collected materials, only science and the education of the public will suffer.
One can only wonder at the narrowness of this flood of "give it back" movement of institutions that should know better. Free and open inquiry is the only way science can function and comparative materials form the basis of all specimen based science. Perhaps those in New Zealand studying the evolution of brachiopods should return their collected material, or perhaps South Dakota dinosaurs should not be seen in New Zealand museums. In this age of easy communication, the "where" of specimens is less important than the "what" and it is likely that once all the museums are emptied of borrowed or collected materials, only science and the education of the public will suffer.
Posted by: Darlene Murray, Chicago, IL on 2:43am Sat 9 Feb 08
While the bones may be two hundred years old, they are the bones of someone's ancestor. The repatriation is the HOMECOMING of a relative. Look into the culture which the bones were taken. The Maori culture is rich in tradition to honor and remember the ancestors. Would you want your grandfathers bones in a drawer in the back of some museum? In the whole scheme of things, 200 years is not that long.
Perhaps the history of the 19th century "anthropological" trade is what should be investigated. The arrogance and superiority which led to treating sacred object and people as a commodity should be as extinct as a brachiopod. I find it interesting that the previous comment give examples of creatures (not people) that lived millions of years ago.
While the bones may be two hundred years old, they are the bones of someone's ancestor. The repatriation is the HOMECOMING of a relative. Look into the culture which the bones were taken. The Maori culture is rich in tradition to honor and remember the ancestors. Would you want your grandfathers bones in a drawer in the back of some museum? In the whole scheme of things, 200 years is not that long.
Perhaps the history of the 19th century "anthropological" trade is what should be investigated. The arrogance and superiority which led to treating sacred object and people as a commodity should be as extinct as a brachiopod. I find it interesting that the previous comment give examples of creatures (not people) that lived millions of years ago.
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
