Research into the provenance of a historical collection of human remains from West Africa begins at SPK
Press release from 09/14/2021
The federal government is funding a three-year research project on human remains from West Africa at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History
The collections of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History of the National Museums in Berlin include 477 human skulls that were brought to Germany from West Africa during the colonial era. These are to be recontextualised as part of a three-year project together with scientists from the countries of origin. The aim is in particular to facilitate repatriations. The project is being funded with around 715,000 euros from the federal cultural budget.
The skulls are part of the anthropological collections that the SPK took over from the Charité in 2011. They include around 7,700 human remains from almost all parts of the world, which were collected in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Around a third have a colonial acquisition background from the former German overseas territories in Africa and the Pacific region.
From 2017 to 2019, the origin of around 1,000 human skulls from the former colony of German East Africa was analysed in a pilot project. The new project on West Africa builds on the experience gained from this. The areas from which most of these skulls probably originate now belong to the countries of Cameroon and Togo.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK: "I am very pleased that, thanks to the support of the Minister of State for Culture and the Media, we are able to continue the investigation of these critical collections of human remains and I very much hope that we will soon find solutions with the countries concerned as to how to deal with the skulls. Until then, we will continue to store them with dignity and care."
Monika Grütters, Minister of State for Culture and the Media: "The appropriate handling of human remains is one of the central tasks to which the federal government, federal states and municipal umbrella organisations have committed themselves in the 'First Key Points on the Handling of Collections from Colonial Contexts'. With its current project to research the human skulls from West Africa, the SPK is once again standing up for the reappraisal of German colonial history and for reconciliation with the affected societies of origin. That is why the Federal Government is also supporting this project to the best of its ability."
The SPK's handling of human remains is based on the guidelines of the German Museums Association, which are funded by the federal government, and the SPK's own basic positions developed for this purpose.
More at: www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/schwerpunkte/provenienzforschung-und-eigentumsfragen/umgang-mit-menschlichen-ueberresten.html