Podcasts about plundered skulls

This is episode two of three in the Bioarchaeology, the past, present, and future series. This episode, Assessing the Present, builds off the previous episode's discussion on the methods bioarchaeologists use, and presents some of the newer, developing methods and technologies that are shaping current research in the field. This episode also dives into some of the important ethical considerations surrounding this type of research, and specifically discusses this as it relates to Native American groups and descendants. Additionally, this episode features interviews with several bioarchaeologists: Dr. Haagen Klaus, Dr. Amy Anderson, Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug, and PhD student Meg Hardie. The cover art was designed and created by Jona Schlegel. Follow her on instragam @archaeoink or check out her website https://jonaschlegel.com/ References: Agarwal, S. C. (2024). The bioethics of skeletal anatomy collections from India. Nature Communications, 15 (1), 1692. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45738-6 Anderson, A. (2022). Skeletal indicators of early life stress: Insights into cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis in a living subsistence population. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara.  Anderson, A. S., Sutherland, M. L., O'Donnell, L., Hill, E. C., Hunt, D. R., Blackwell, A. D., & Gurven, M. D. (2021). Do computed tomography findings agree with traditional osteological examination? The case of porous cranial lesions. International Journal of Paleopathology, 33, 209–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.04.008 Boldsen, J. L., Milner, G. R., Konigsberg, L. W., and Wood, J. W. (2002). Transition analysis: A new method for estimating age from skeletons. In R. D. Hoppa and J. W. Vaupel (Eds.), Paleodemography (1st ed., pp. 73–106). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511542428.005 Brooks, S., and Suchey, J. M. (1990). Skeletal age determination based on the os pubis: a comparison of the Acsádi-Nemeskéri and Suchey-Brooks methods. Human Evolution, 5, 227-238. Colwell, C. (2019). Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the fight to reclaim native america's culture. University of Chicago Press. Rasmussen, M., Li, Y., Lindgreen, S. et al. (2010). Ancient human genome sequence of an extinct Palaeo-Eskimo. Nature. 463, 757–762. Robbins Schug, G., Killgrove, K., Atkin, A., & Baron, K. (2021). 3D Dead: Ethical Considerations in Digital Human Osteology. Bioarchaeology International, 4(3–4). https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2020.3008 Schug, G. R. (2020). A Bioarchaeology of Climate and Environmental Change. In G. R. Schug (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Climate and Environmental Change (1st ed., pp. 1–16). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351030465-1 Stewart, N. A., Gerlach, R. F., Gowland, R. L., Gron, K. J., & Montgomery, J. (2017). Sex determination of human remains from peptides in tooth enamel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(52), 13649–13654.

This month, I interview Chip Colwell. We talk about his wide-ranging work as an anthropologist, museologist, and a public-facing scholar. We talk about why it is so important and beneficial for public historians and scholars to reach out to their respective public, and then about his work at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. There, he formed relationships with indigenous communities, directed the museum's operations concerning repatriation and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, his work on the Museum's Native Science Initiative, and his ongoing work as Editor in Chief of the global public humanities project, SAPIENS. Dr. Chip Colwell is the editor-in-chief of Sapiens.org, an online magazine about anthropological thinking and discoveries. From 2007-2020, he was the Senior Curator of Anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He has published 12 books including Objects of Survivance: A Material History of American Indian Education (University Press of Colorado) and Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture (University of Chicago Press). His work has been highlighted in such venues as the New York Times, The Guardian, Salon, and Slate. The ITPS Podcast is hosted by Dr. John C. Winters. John is the ITPS Research Associate in New York History and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi. As a public historian, John has nearly ten years of experience in historic homes and public history institutions. You can find him at johncwinters.com and @wintersjohnc

Who owns the past and the objects that connect us to history? We discuss this and so much more with Chip Colwell as we talk about his book, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture. Our conversation revolves around NAPRA, repatriation of human remains, and ultimately human dignity and the importance of relationships. Chip Colwell is the founding Editor-in-Chief of SAPIENS, an online magazine about anthropological thinking and serves as co-host of the SAPIENS podcast. He served as the Senior Curator of Anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for 12 years and has published many academic articles, book chapters, and 12 books. Join us for this fascinating conversation, and a peek into the world of museums and repatriation.      

Have you ever considered lifting lipstick from Sephora, only to wonder why? Did you feel the rush of valor when Indiana Jones breached Russian defenses to nab an enchanted skull for the sake of humanity? This hour on the Colin McEnroe Show, our guests invite our inner thieves to reveal themselves and shine light on why we steal. We look at thefts through history and culture, discuss how a common villain gets made in times of uncertainty, and talk about the push for museums to restore ties between Native communities and their sacred belongings through artifact repatriation. GUESTS: Robert Tyminski - Psychologist and psychoanalyst in the Jungian tradition, author of “The Psychology of Theft” and “Loss: Stolen and Fleeced” Lisa Feldman Barrett - Neuroscientist and psychologist at Northeastern’s College of Science, and author of “Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain” Chip Colwell - Founder of Sapiens magazine and podcast, anthropologist, former senior curator at the Denver Museum of Earth and Science, and author of “Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits” Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The BCMA Team has loved watching Rutherford Falls! Join us for the final Rutherford Falls Recap, where we discuss Episodes 8, 9, and 10 to finish off Season 1. Koy and Leia discuss the plot twists and turns, some of the difficult topics the show brings up, and chat about the real challenges reflected in the show. SPOILER ALERT: We talk about the final three episodes of Rutherford Falls - if you haven't finished watching the whole first season, we are going to spoil the ending! If you missed our discussion about Episodes 1-4 or 5-7, check your podcast feed and make sure you follow the BCMA podcast for more. Mentioned in this episode: NAGPRA Comics can be found online and are created by Dr. Sonya Atalay, Dr. Jen Shannon, and John Swogger. Find them here! BCMA Repatriation Call to Action can be found here! Pledge your support and join your colleagues in taking actionable steps towards reconciliation. The book Leia mentions is Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits, Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture by Chip Colwell. You can find publication information from the University of Chicago Press    Feel free to send your thoughts to bcma@museum.bc.ca

We're joined by special guest hosts Jeremy Uden and Marina de Alarcón from the Pitt Rivers Museum as we discuss the return of cultural objects. What are some of the attitudes we've encountered, and what is the role of the conservator in this? Kloe talks to Mark Furness about preparing objects for return, and Daniel Schwartz about how we can become better facilitators. Also tune in for a review of 'Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits' by Chip Colwell. 00:00:52 Repatriation or restitution? 00:03:01 Attitudes in the sector 00:10:47 Where did we get these things to begin with? 00:13:38 Knowing what you've got 00:16:41 Role of conservators 00:24:32 Reactions and dialogue 00:28:19 Stewardship not ownership 00:31:23 Gains, not losses 00:37:35 Our place within restitution 00:44:06 Interview with Mark Furness 00:55:58 Interview with Daniel Schwartz 01:04:55 Review: 'Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits' Show Notes: - Repatriation vs restitution: https://collectionstrust.org.uk/cultural-property-advice/restitution-and-repatriation/ - About NAGPRA: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm - Pitt Rivers removal of human remains from display: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2020/09/pitt-rivers-museum-removes-shrunken-heads-from-display-after-ethical-review/ - Bronze cockerel returned to Nigeria: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/nov/27/bronze-cockerel-to-be-returned-to-nigeria-by-cambridge-college - Museum Ethnographers Group: http://www.museumethnographersgroup.org.uk/en/ - Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plundered-Skulls-Stolen-Spirits-Americas/dp/022629899X Support us on Patreon! http://www.patreon.com/thecword Hosted by Jenny Mathiasson, Kloe Rumsey, Jeremy Uden, and Marina de Alarcón. Intro and outro music by DDmyzik used under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. A Wooden Dice production, 2020.

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade to force museums to return their sacred objects and allow them to rebury their kin. Today, hundreds of tribes use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to help them recover their looted heritage from museums across the country. As senior curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Chip Colwell has navigated firsthand the questions of how to weigh the religious freedom of Native Americans against the academic freedom of scientists and whether the emptying of museum shelves elevates human rights or destroys a common heritage. Winner of the 2019 National Council on Public History Book Award, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture(University of Chicago Press, 2017) offers Colwell's personal account of the process of repatriation, following the trail of four objects as they were created, collected, and ultimately returned to their sources: a sculpture that is a living god, the scalp of a massacre victim, a ceremonial blanket, and a skeleton from a tribe considered by some to be extinct. These specific stories reveal a dramatic process that involves not merely obeying the law, but negotiating the blurry lines between identity and morality, spirituality and politics. Things, like people, have biographies. Repatriation, Colwell argues, is a difficult but vitally important way for museums and tribes to acknowledge that fact—and heal the wounds of the past while creating a respectful approach to caring for these rich artifacts of history. Ryan Tripp is adjunct history faculty for the College of Online and Continuing Education at Southern New Hampshire University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chip Colwell, author of "Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits," looks at preservation and cultural appropriation. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, University of Delaware, shares the story of Washington's runaway slave.