Contested Heritages: National Collections, Archaeological Research and Ethnic Claims about Human Remains

Abstract

In recent decades the claims made by Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities about the human remains of their ancestors, found in archaeological sites or held in museums, have become a world scale phenomenon, as part of a whole range of ethnic restitutions. Even though these claims have been made in very different contexts (e.g. Native American peoples, Jewish in Israel, etc.), they have challenged values which seemed to be indisputable, such as the progress of scientific research and the role of nation states as guardians of the cultural heritage. The aims of this paper consist in analysing the development and the evolution of the reburial issue in different countries as well as discussing the legal, professional and ethical implications of this topic for archaeology and cultural heritage management.