SKULLS AS CURIOS, CRANIA AS SCIENCE: Some Notes on the Collection of Skeletal Material during the German Colonial Period

Burial plays a major cultural role in most Micronesian societies. Burial in the soil tied the deceased ancestors to the land they once owned and created and consolidated manifestations of land claims by the descendants. Apart from cultural practices, the burials were untouchable. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century European museums and an-thropological societies were eager to acquire skeletal material from Micronesia to understand the peopling of the Pacific and the relationship of the various ‘races. ’ To this end, German traders, officials and naval personnel obtained skeletal material both clandestinely and openly. In the latter case, acquiescence was assured through the power differential be-tween the German officials and the local population. This paper compiles what is known of the German collection ef-forts in Micronesia. In the 1980s and early 1990s Australian ar-chaeology and heritage management was faced with the ethical issue of the profession’s ap-proaches to Aboriginal human remains, spe-cifically their research and treatment.1 A similar situation occurred in the USA, where it led to the passing of the Native American Grave