Museums

Inca sacrificial victim called Llullaillaco Mummy on display in Salta, Argentina

Image: http://www.science20.com/news_account/mummy_studies_show_inca_fattened_up_kids_before_human_sacrifice

I didn't realize all the controversy and conflict surrounding museums and artifacts until recently.  When I used to go to the museum I would "oooh" and "awwww" at all the artifacts and try to imagine their history: who used them; what they used them for, and how old they were.  However, I think next time I go to the museum I will view these items differently. Now I am going to wonder how the community who used these artifacts feels about them being on display and how the items found their way into the museum.

As for the display of human remains, this is a very controversial issue. I know a lot of people who wouldn't mind having their remains on display, especially for educational purposes.  But I imagine no consent was recevied from most of the people who are on display or housed in a museum today so we don't know if they mind or not.  For example, who asked the 15-year-old Inca sacrificial victim, Llullaillaco Maiden, if her mummified body could be put on display in a museum in Salta, Argentina?  Considering she died around 500 years ago, I'm guessing nobody asked her permission.  This is the issue: we don't know how these people feel about their remains being put on display.  Some of them might be happy to be making a contribution to science and education but other people might not like the idea of public display, especially if it goes against their cultural beliefs regarding how a deceased individual should be treated and what happens to the person after death.  For example, I know if I believed I could only move on to an afterlife if I was buried in a grave with specific grave goods, I wouldn't be happy (to say the least) if my body and grave goods were exhumed and then put on display.

Personally, after I die, I want to donate my body to science so I can continue to have an impact on people's lives.  I wouldn't mind my bones or individual body parts being on display I suppose. However, I would never want to be on display in a museum or similar institution in any form that resembled me in life, such as the Bog Bodies or well-preserved Inca mummies.  I want people to remember me as full of life and, well, alive! I wouldn't want people staring at my lifeless mummified body. I think that would be creepy.

Considering we can't ask deceased individuals for their permission to put their bodies and artifacts on display, I think the next best thing is to ask their relatives.  Even though people in the same culture, and even the same family, can have very different beliefs regardings rituals, death, and religion, I think ancestors are the closest we can come to understanding deceased individuals' wishes.  For this reason, I believe it is important to consult with ancestors whenever possible when dealing with issues of display in museums.