Ethical Approaches to Human Remains

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvii

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2. Introduction

   • Kirsty Squires, David Errickson, Nicholas Márquez-Grant

   Pages 1-15

3. Ethical Issues Surrounding Human Remains

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

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   2. The Dignity of the Dead: Ethical Reflections on the Archaeology of Human Remains

      • Lydia de Tienda Palop, Brais X. Currás

      Pages 19-37

   3. What Remains? Human Rights After Death

      • Claire Moon

      Pages 39-58

   4. Research on Human Remains: An Ethics of Representativeness

      • Hallvard J. Fossheim

      Pages 59-72

   5. The Ethical Awakening of Human Anatomy: Reassessing the Past and Envisioning a More Ethical Future

      • David Gareth Jones

      Pages 73-94

   6. Serious Enquiries Only, Please: Ethical Issues Raised by the Online Human Remains Trade

      • Damien Huffer, Nathan Charlton

      Pages 95-129

4. Ethical Dilemmas in Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 131-131

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   2. Ethical and Practical Challenges of Working with Archaeological Human Remains, with a Focus on the UK

      • Charlotte A. Roberts

      Pages 133-155

   3. Ethical Considerations in the Excavation of Burials in England: A Perspective from Developer Led Archaeology

      • Louise Loe, Sharon Clough

      Pages 157-177

   4. ‘The Dead Teach the Living’: Ethical Considerations Concerning the Management of Collections of Human Remains in Universities

      • Anwen Caffell, Tina Jakob

      Pages 179-209

   5. Human Remains in Museum Collections in the United Kingdom

      • Heather Bonney, Jelena Bekvalac, Carina Phillips

      Pages 211-237

   6. Rethinking Purpose, Protocol, and Popularity in Displaying the Dead in Museums

      • Trish Biers

      Pages 239-263

   7. The Ethics of Sampling Human Skeletal Remains for Destructive Analyses

      • Kirsty Squires, Thomas Booth, Charlotte A. Roberts

      Pages 265-297

   8. Sharing Is Not Always Caring: Social Media and the Dead

      • David Errickson, Tim J. U. Thompson

      Pages 299-313

   9. 3D Data in Human Remains Disciplines: The Ethical Challenges

      • Sian E. Smith, Cara S. Hirst

      Pages 315-346

   10. Ethical Concerns in Forensic Anthropology

       • Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Nicholas V. Passalacqua, Marin A. Pilloud, Nicola Lester, Summer Decker, Jonathan Ford

       Pages 347-366

   11. The Ethical Considerations for Creating a Human Taphonomy Facility in the United Kingdom

       • Anna Williams, John P. Cassella, Jamie K. Pringle

       Pages 367-384

5. Global Perspectives and Case Studies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 385-385

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This book is the first of its kind, combining international perspectives on the current ethical considerations and challenges facing bioarchaeologists in the recovery, analysis, curation, and display of human remains. It explores how museum curators, commercial practitioners, forensic anthropologists, and bioarchaeologists deal with ethical issues pertaining to human remains in traditional and digital settings around the world. 
 
The book not only raises key ethical questions concerning the study, display, and curation of skeletal remains that bioarchaeologists must face and overcome in different countries, but also explores how this global community can work together to increase awareness of similar and, indeed, disparate ethical considerations around the world and how they can be addressed in working practices. 
 
The key aspects addressed include ethics in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology, the excavation, curation, and display of human remains, repatriation, and new imaging techniques. As such, the book offers an ideal guide for students and practitioners in the fields of bioarchaeology, osteoarchaeology, forensic anthropology, medical anthropology, archaeology, anatomy, museum and archive studies, and philosophy, detailing how some ethical dilemmas have been addressed and which future dilemmas need to be considered.

• ethics of bioarchaeology
• scientific value of human remains
• history and ethics of bioarchaeology
• repatriation of human remains
• religion and ethics
• funerary aspects of ethics
• ethics in forensic anthropology
• repatriation in the USA
• analysis of human remains
• curation of human remains

“The highlight of this book is that each chapter offers a unique perspective on a specific subject about human remains. … The volume presents a current perspective on ethical challenges faced by specialists and practitioners … . The various topic raised, and the recommendations provided by the authors are expected to be significant in improving practices. Ultimately, this manuscript serves as a reminder for anthropologists and other practitioners to not neglect their ethical responsibility towards human remains and descendant communities.” (Yassmine Ghalem, anthrobookforum.americananthro.org, April 4, 2022)

• School of Law, Policing and Forensics, Staffordshire University, Science Centre, Stoke-on-Trent, UK

  Kirsty Squires

• Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, UK

  David Errickson, Nicholas Márquez-Grant

Kirsty Squires is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology and MSc Forensic Science award leader at Staffordshire University. Kirsty’s primary research interests lie in the analysis and interpretation of burned skeletal remains from archaeological and forensic contexts, early medieval funerary archaeology, the archaeology of childhood, and ethical considerations within osteoarchaeology and forensic anthropology. She has over 10 years of experience in the excavation and analysis of human skeletal remains. Kirsty is the Outreach Officer for the Society for the Study of Childhood in the Past and a Research Associate of the Observatory for the Mummified Heritage of Sicily, Santa Lucia del Mela.
 
David Errickson is a Lecturer in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology at Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, UK. David has a research focus on 3D technology and its use in quantitative analysis, learning, and teaching. David has a passion for ethical discussion and is a co-creator of the ethical forum on digital osteology; a discussion group on ethical considerations with regards to human remains. Likewise, David has co-edited the new British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology ethical guidance on the use of 2D and 3D images pertaining to human remains. Finally, David has co-authored a chapter with Dr. Nicholas Márquez-Grant on ethical considerations with regards to 3D imaging.
 
Nicholas Márquez-Grant is a Senior Lecturer and the MSc Course Director in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology at Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, UK. He is also a Research Affiliate at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, UK. He has over 20 years of experience in the excavation and analysis of human remains from a variety of archaeological contexts and is increasingly working on ethical aspects in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. As a forensic practitioner, he has acted in the UK as an expert witness in Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology.

Policies and ethics