The human remains come from illegal digging. Researchers intensively examined almost 1200 skulls in Berlin. Now they should go back to their countries of origin.
Berlin (dpa) - The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has researched the origin of almost 1200 human skulls from the former colony of German East Africa. Now they should be returned.
The skulls belong to the anthropological collections that the foundation took over from the Charité - the Berlin university clinics - in 2011.
"We first cleaned the skulls and treated them conservatively. Before that, they were absolutely inadequate, even stored in a damp place, partially infested with mold," said the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, of the German Press Agency in Berlin. "Then we set out to work out the origin of these 1200 skulls in a pilot project with the clear goal of repatriation, i.e. the return."
With the completion of the research work, the origin is clarified. "Of the almost 1200 skulls examined, around 900 are from Rwanda, around 250 from Tanzania and then a good 30 from Kenya, we were unable to assign a few," said Parzinger. "So about 98 percent come from the former colony of German East Africa." On the skulls from Kenya it can be seen that collections were also made beyond the borders of the German colonies. "The collection was created through a global network."
An archeologist, an anthropologist, an ethnologist and a museologist were involved in the project funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. "There was also a team with scientists from Rwanda," Parzinger reported.
In this case, provenance research was not primarily used to determine whether something is legal or illegal here. "From a moral point of view, these skulls should never have been brought here." It was not millennia-old skeletons that came here through archaeological excavations, "instead cemeteries, grave fields of the communities living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were opened or opened and the remains simply removed - of course without the community's approval."
According to Parzinger, this is the first time that such a large inventory of human remains has been processed. This is now fully documented. "It is part of the fact that we put together everything we know about it and want to give everything back to the countries with this information."
The project also made it clear to the scientists how different the graves were depending on the region and tribal area. "In one area, for example, no cemeteries were established, but the deceased were placed in caves," said Parzinger. "If a collector plundered such a place, where dead people had been deposited for decades, maybe centuries, he would of course have a large inventory in a short time. That explains the focus of the collection."
Now it's about the modalities of the returns. "We are in discussion with the embassies of all three countries concerned. Together we must now consider how to deal with the next steps," said Parzinger. He has already been given a free hand by the Board of Trustees for repatriation in consultation with the federal government.
What happens to the remains in the countries of origin? "The process is now underway. We don't have to judge what happens to the remains after repatriation," said Parzinger. "It is about whether the skulls should go back to the individual places or how to deal with the affected communities. These are internal processes that should not be underestimated in their complexity. We also have no right to put pressure on time. "
Foundation for the collection
Foundation for dealing with human remains