7th February 2011, 01:29 PM
I post this in the full knowledge that I`m about to be slaughtered by some but nonetheless, this has to be said....
Long-term storage and curation of Human remains is a problem. Whilst there are a number of extremely good curators and associated systems out there, some systems are appalling. And some curators are being axed altogether. Human remains curated over the long and in some cases-the short term, can be missing completely, be boxed with other finds, have elements missing or have suffered post-ex damage. It`s not unusual for Human remains researchers to wait months and even years for a coherent response from some curators only to find that upon arrival at the storage facility that essential elements were loaned out years or decades ago and the curator has no record of where they went. Some museums have been guilty of gluing Human remains down onto display systems whereby completely reducing the efectiveness of further study. Of course, as professional curators are axed around the country and volunteers take their places, things are destined only to get far worse.
If any "new" system is to find a place in the current world of osteological endeavour- a complete rethink and re-assessment of the failings of the current system are in order. If we are going to exhume Human remains, we should only be doing so when those remains are at risk. If we are going to curate exhumed Human remains, then we need to be tightening controls.
Long-term storage and curation of Human remains is a problem. Whilst there are a number of extremely good curators and associated systems out there, some systems are appalling. And some curators are being axed altogether. Human remains curated over the long and in some cases-the short term, can be missing completely, be boxed with other finds, have elements missing or have suffered post-ex damage. It`s not unusual for Human remains researchers to wait months and even years for a coherent response from some curators only to find that upon arrival at the storage facility that essential elements were loaned out years or decades ago and the curator has no record of where they went. Some museums have been guilty of gluing Human remains down onto display systems whereby completely reducing the efectiveness of further study. Of course, as professional curators are axed around the country and volunteers take their places, things are destined only to get far worse.
If any "new" system is to find a place in the current world of osteological endeavour- a complete rethink and re-assessment of the failings of the current system are in order. If we are going to exhume Human remains, we should only be doing so when those remains are at risk. If we are going to curate exhumed Human remains, then we need to be tightening controls.