Should human remains be included in museum displays?
Museums in the UK and internationally have been and continue to be major repositories for human remains and this varies across sites. The Museum of London, for example, is the main custodian of human remains excavated during archaeological excavations exposed through the relentless redevelopment of urban London. There are also centuries-old medical museums, such as the Hunterian Museum in London, that store historical human specimens. Some of these specimens were meticulously dissected and prepared for the sole purpose of anatomical training, whilst others are displays of human tissue viewed as different from a perceived norm, which were once displayed for public fascination. Museums act as keepers of these remains and the curators and staff are responsible for their ethical treatment, display and care.
But what about the ethical and moral issues around the public display of such human remains? Is there ever a need to have a dead body, or parts of a body, available for public viewing?
The Human Tissue Act (HTA) of 2004, states that only human body parts from individuals that died over 100 years ago are permitted for public display by an HTA licence holder. But should the recently dead be treated, or considered differently, to our historical or ancient ancestors? And what of named individuals? Should human remains of a known person, have different ethical considerations to those from unidentifiable or anonymous people? Should the remains of an individual ever be displayed at all?
These questions and their complex ethical ramifications, were the subject of an event hosted in partnership with the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG) at the University of Leicester, and coordinated by Antitheses partners Culture&, in May 2024.
During the two-day event cultural partners and museum representatives worked alongside Museum Studies MA, MSc and PgDip students who are part of the ‘New Museum School’ at Leicester. Attendees worked through the many strands entwined within this issue, with the aim of reaching a collective decision on the future of human remains displays in museums.
The intention was to create an environment, in the form of a trial, where current cases in human remains curation could be presented, discussed and questioned. Evidence was then presented by expert witnesses both for and against the display of human remains in public museums and they were cross examined. Finally, an anonymised vote was taken to ascertain whether participants felt it was ever ethically appropriate to display dead bodies in these settings and whether their positions had changed as a result of hearing expert evidence.
Before and after hearing the expert evidence, the student jury was asked to respond to the overarching question: Do you think human remains should ever be on public display in museum spaces? Although the initial response to this question was in favour, the number of ‘yes’ votes decreased after hearing the evidence. There were generally nuanced feelings on the topic across the group, particularly with regards to the issue of how recently an individual had died and whether their display was ever morally permissible.
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE DISPLAY OF HUMAN REMAINS IN MUSEUMS |
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE DISPLAY OF HUMAN REMAINS IN MUSEUM |
Arguments from the ‘defence’ included the value to science and human knowledge in displaying human remains and what we can learn about the lives of people from previous historical epochs.
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The arguments of the ‘prosecution’ focused on the morality and ethics of consent, what we really learn from displaying human remains and that there are alternatives.
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what do you think?