Paper short abstract:

In collaboration with scholars from Africa an interdisciplinary project group from ABI and University Freiburg aims at encouraging in a transparent and participated way the interdisciplinary and intercultural exchange on provenance analysis and repatriation of human remains from Africa.

Paper long abstract:

The joint project of the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute Freiburg e.V. and the University of Freiburg aims at approaching questions of provenance of human remains and the treatment of a collection with limited background information. This will be addressed in cooperation with respective populations of provenance. Based on archival materials of the Alexander Ecker collection (Freiburg anatomist who started around 1860 to build a worldwide collection of human skulls) unknown so far, a more intensive and detailed provenance analysis allows to reconstruct individual details of the context of acquisition and to rehumanize the so far unidentified individuals from colonial contexts. The focus of the project is on about 120 human remains from allover the African continent.

Besides the more detailed documentation of the collection a major goal is to link systematic historical and non-invasive life science analysis and to develop a joint concept of reciprocal research together with cultural and social sciences as well as with museum representatives from countries of origin. This process will be accompanied by an advisory board consisting of African scholars meeting regularly in order to guarantee transparency and participation. It will lead to a joint best practice guideline for the treatment of human remains.

As such approaches are lacking of experience major attention will be drawn on the documentation of processes and experiences in the interaction of collections and populations of origin during the course of the project.