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Journal ArticleDOI

Is there a crisis facing British burial archaeology

Duncan Sayer
- 01 Mar 2009 - 
- Vol. 83, Iss: 319, pp 199-205
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TLDR
For example, the Science Museum returned the remains of Tasmanian Aborigines to their cultural home (Henderson 2007) and the legal system governing the excavation of human remains was reinterpreted as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract
2007 was an eventful year for the ethics of burial in Britain: the Science Museum returned the remains of Tasmanian Aborigines to their cultural home (Henderson 2007), the legal system governing the excavation of human remains was reinterpreted (Small 2008), The Guardian reported on the desire of neo-pagans to take ownership of human remains (Randerson 2007) and there was a debate in the museum literature on just this topic (see Restall Orr & Bienkowski 2006 and Smith & Mays 2007). In light of these changes and debates it may be unsurprising to learn that many British archaeologists feel that it is ' getting more difficult to work with human remains '.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Silk Road riches no embarrassment

N. James
- 01 Jun 2011 - 
TL;DR: Mallory et al. as discussed by the authors found the remains of settlements and cemeteries at the Great Wall's lonely outposts and along the routes between China and Central Asia known as the Silk Road, dating from the Bronze Age to the later firstmillennium AD.
Book ChapterDOI

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

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss some of the main ethical considerations in burial excavation in England, with reference to a number of examples and on the ground observations, not usually provided in the published literature.
Journal ArticleDOI

Ethics and Practice in the Excavation, Examination, Analysis, and Preservation of Historical Mummified Human Remains

TL;DR: The study of mummies raises ethical considerations similar to those for skeletonized remains, but given the greater recognition of their humanity, further social and religious considerations are relevant as mentioned in this paper, and investigation needs to be set against the local legislation and the feelings of the mummies' gatekeepers and, in some cases, their descendant communities.
Book ChapterDOI

Conflicts Over the Excavation, Retention and Display of Human Remains: An Issue Resolved?

Liz White
TL;DR: For several decades, human remains have been at the centre of a heated debate that focuses upon whether or not it is ethical to disturb, retain, study and display the dead.
References
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Book

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft

Ronald Hutton
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a set of rules for finding a high magic and a low magic in the context of finding a language and a structure in the world of magic.
Journal ArticleDOI

A Perspective on Ethics and the Reburial Controversy

TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that archaeologists have no inherent right of access to human remains, grave goods, or objects of cultural heritage, and that respecting diverse cultural views does not amount to an abdication of academic freedom.
Journal ArticleDOI

Reburying Australian Skeletons

Steve Webb
- 01 Jul 1987 - 
TL;DR: Webb as mentioned in this paper, as a physical anthropologist working in Australia, is one of the professionals whose work would most directly be affected by reburial of human skeletal remains, and he gives here, at the invitation of the editor, his impressions of rebURial issues in Australia; the opinions expressed here are strictly his own and may not reflect those of his colleagues.
Journal ArticleDOI

The repatriation of human remains – problem or opportunity?

TL;DR: The Working Group on Human Remains established by the British government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2001 to review the current legal status of human remains held in all publicly funded museums and galleries, and to consider and review submissions on the issue of the return of non-UK human remains to their descendent communities.