I hesitate to answer to this delicate issue - because I do not "feel" any
moral problems, although I do acknowledge that others think differently.
But, religious and personal artifacts abound in European Museums: catholic
pictures, statues, skulls of saints, their personal wardrobe ect. is
everywhere in normal "state-owned" museums. The findings of old Celtic
remains in the Austrian Alps, the old skulls and bones, unearthed from
ancient cemeteries are on display in various museums.
The Natural History Museum of Vienna, Austria, is considered as the second
greates grave yards of Vienna and houses skulls and bones of more than
40.000 dead individuals of all ages and human history periods. All findings
of "ancient" skulls in Austria have to be reported to this museums and found
objects go there by law. It is a great and valuable treasure for scientific
research - of yet unknown importance ....
If we, the white, the never so innocent any more, handle their own ancestors
in such a "normal" (degracing, violent, ugly, brutal, unthinking ..) way
.... what does it tell to us?

I have two different possible answers, which contradict each other:
1) Shall we support the sensible ones, the ones who are (more easily)
offended, the ones who show us OUR "ugly face", the ones who do not want to
look at the skulls ? The ones that load us with the importance of their
feelings?
2) Shall we support the general interest, the sciences and disregard the
ones who try to cover science with their personal feelings?

Petr, the Austrian Rebernik


> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]Im
> Auftrag von Seana Jones
> Gesendet: Dienstag, 9. November 1999 19:45
> An: [log in to unmask]
> Betreff: Re: research help
>
>
> Yes, but what about Aboriginal (Indian) material. For example,
> ceremonial masks, that had (and still have) personal religious
> meaning, that should not be on display or in a museum. Or for
> that matter, African religious artifacts.
>
> As an example from the States, what about the skulls of Native
> Americans (Indians). Shouldn't museums "edit" those artifacts out
> of their collections? I'm thinking of a story not too long ago
> where a major musuem in the States would not give the relatives
> the bones of their ancestors for
> proper burial. Is it not "immoral" for museums to continue to
> keep these types of objects in their collections?
>
> Shea (Seana Jones)
>
> Jackie Britton wrote:
> The changing of displays over time to reflect contemporary
> knowledge and attitudes is normal (but should be done with self
> awareness!) - the 'editing' of collections is another matter
> intirely and would be immoral in itself.
>

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