The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue on how ancient human remains are or should be handled and dealt with from an ethical and archaeological perspective. This management has previously been based on what we today call racial biology, which shows how these issues have been neglected and assumed less worthy when it comes to how to treat indigenous people. In museums, archives, universities and medical institutions there are currently bone materials that science and indigenous people claim ownership of in different ways. Indigenous people believe that their ancestors have the right to rest in peace while science deems that human remains should be observed in order to preserve the past and monitor the future with the help of prehistoric knowledge. For a deeper understanding of how reburials and repatriation works, three case studies are presented. Two of these case studies are completed reburials, and the third case study is an ongoing process since 1949. In this paper a hermeneutic approach which is used to explain why human remains are the key to future studies, without involving our personal opinions.

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In 2019 media articles about clearance of human remains at a museum in Gothenburg caught my attention. The remains would either be destroyed, reburied or repatriated. The politically driven management, Västarvet, had made a decision on clearance of human remains at two museums in Gothenburg, which created reactions both in the research world and in the media. That´s why I chose to study deaccession of human remains in museums.  The purpose of this master's thesis is to study how the principles for human remains, and attitudes towards deaccession of human remains have changed since the 19th century, and why? This is studied through a power and ethical perspective. The thesis research question is, what are the attitudes to clearance of human remains and how have the principles changed? This question is broken down into three smaller questions, which are; What function have human remains had and what function do they have today? How has the view of human remains changed since the 19th century? What are the alternatives for clearance of human remains? The method in this thesis is mail interview and literature study. The theoretical standpoints in this thesis are power and ethic, where power is based upon Michel Foucault’s approach to power and subject. I have also included two cases of deaccession, one is Västarvet and the other one is a case of repatriation from the British Museum. Some of the results are that the function human remains have had, has partly changed over the past 200 years. Early on, human remains became study objects, which has continued into our time. But today the focus is mainly on research that is more or less ethically justifiable. Attitudes toward clearance of human remains in museums are generally something that comes with objections, specially from media. From museum professionals clearance is not something that they are opposed to, but at the same time it is a process that few in the industry use. This is a two years master´s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.

This bachelor thesis provides a study of two individuals from Buttle Änge, Gotland and the data of their health at the time of death. Possible profession or status of each individual has been discussed in correlation to the form of burial and then summated into a possible explanation. Individual 1, the buttle warrior, was determined a man with an age between 30-35 years and a stature of 180 centimetres. Individual 2, the armless individual, was determined a man with the age of 20-25 years and a stature of 175 centimetres. The analyse of the human skeletal material and excavation reports gave a context to how these two individuals were buried. The offerings or lack of offerings, in the grave gave an insight to the status of the burial for each individual. The Buttle Warrior gave indication on impact or change in the vertebrae which probably came from the way of movement he had in life. The lack of grave offerings in the grave of the armless individual have been discussed and formed a possible explanation that the armless individual lack skeleton of the arms because of a probable remove just before or short after burial. The two human remains origins from the Roman iron age, a period from 0 to 400 AD, both individuals was dated to a period of 0-150 AD.

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This essay focuses on how the osteological analysis is carried out in studies of different types of mass graves. The analysis is based on 20 studies of different types of mass graves. The 20 studies were selected because they represent analyses of various types of mass graves and because they all contain a presentation of the methods used in the examinations of the remains. Different types of archaeological mass graves are examined as well as forensically interesting ones. Similarities and differences between aims, questions asked, and methodology in studies of different types of mass graves are examined. The purpose for which the various methods are used is also investigated with the aim of seeing whether the same method can be utilized for different purposes in studies of different types of mass graves.  One conclusion reached is that a tendency can be seen that a certain set of methods is used in most studies of mass graves. Some differences can be seen depending on the main focus of the studies and the type of mass grave that is examined. The main differences can be distinguished between archaeological and forensic investigations. The two disciplines are similar in many ways but the focus in the studies and the purpose of them often differ. In forensic studies the aim is usually identification, while archaeological studies tend to have a broader focus, which is reflected in choices of methods and questions asked.  In all of the studies, largely the same kind of methods are used, however, it appears that different versions of a method can be applied. Researchers have developed various more specific versions of methods and a tendency can be seen that the different studies use different versions of the same kind of methods.  Another conclusion drawn is that although researchers state that at the moment there is no common standard for how investigations of mass graves should be carried out, it appears in this essay that a certain common structure can still be seen. Although there is no stated standard, there seems to be an unspoken one, at least when it comes to methodology in examinations of human remains from mass graves.

Syftet med denna studie är att analysera diskurser kring återlämnande av finska kvarlevor som förvaras på Karolinska Institutet och de olika synpunkterna som tas upp i diskussionen. Fokus på analysen är att analysera diskurserna kring återlämnandets betydelse för sverigefinska minoritetsgruppen utifrån hur de framställs i de olika uttalandena av den sverigefinska kommittégruppen och dess medlemmar. I denna studie använder jag mig av diskursanalysen för att analysera olika offentliga uttalanden från sverigefinska kommittégruppen som gruppen både själv publicerat och kommenterat eller tagit del av genom olika intervjuer i olika medier. Diskursanalytiska synsättet innebär att man kritiskt studerar hur dessa uttalanden socialt och historiskt är konstruerade, och vad de kan tolkas att säga om kommittégruppens sätt att socialt förstå och förhålla sig till frågan om återlämnandet. Denna studies teoretiska ramverk består av flera olika teorier om försoningen, diskursanalysen och mänskliga kvarlevornas moraliska värde, exempelvis Nordquists (2021) teori om försoningen i arbete av försonings- och sanningskommissionerna, Faircloughs (2010) teori om en kritisk diskursanalys och Mastertons (2010) teori om kvarlevornas värde.   Studieresultat visar på hur frågan om återlämnandet av finska kvarlevorna är starkt sammanflätad med frågan om att finska kvarlevorna inte hör till KI som har stulit dem från deras rättmätiga ägare, nämligen de levande släktingarna till dem vars kvarlevor förvaras på KI. Återlämnandet kan också tolkas att ha betydelse för sverigefinska minoritetsgruppen som ett erkännande för de begångna oförrätterna mot minoritetsgruppen, och denna handling upplevs att bli en symbol för minoritetsgruppens makt över dess egen historieskrivning som fortfarande upplevs att utgå ifrån majoritetsgruppens makt över minoriteterna i svenska samhället. Gällande försoningen upplevs den enda vägen till denna vara att KI som institut ordentligt utreder sin historia och dess konsekvenser och erkänner minoritetsgruppens lidande som ett äkta lidande men KI upplevs inte att ha vilja till detta då det med sitt förnekande av sitt rasbiologiska förflutna tydligt visar på hur det fortfarande vill hålla fast vid dess företräde att skriva om historien utifrån majoritetsbefolkningens hegemoni.

<p><em> </em></p><p>Excavations of human skeletal remains are sometimes followed by claims for reburial from the local community. This has led to debates between researchers and other elements of society, churches or minorities. This scientific paper sat out to examine the discussions and debates found in Sweden (Scandinavia), with the situation in Vanuatu, (Melanesia). The objective was to elucidate similarities and differences in people’s attitude when it comes to reburial. Religious beliefs, legislations and policies were compared to provide explanations for the different attitudes in the two countries. The study showed that the debates found in the Swedish material such as conflicts between researchers and the church or between the Saami population and Swedish researchers, haven’t got a counterpart in Vanuatu. This was much due to the research policies in Vanuatu and the strong Christian faith.</p> / <p><em> </em></p><p>Fynd av mänskliga kvarlevor i samband med utgrävningar följs ibland av krav på återbegravning från det lokala samhället. Detta har lett till debatter mellan forskare och andra delar av samhället, kyrkan eller minoriteter. Denna C-uppsats har försökt undersöka diskussionerna och debatterna som framkommit i Sverige (Skandinavien) och Vanuatu (Melanesien). Målet var att belysa likheter och skillnader hos människors inställning när det kommer till återbegravning. Religion, lagstiftning och policys jämfördes för att förklara de olika inställningarna i de två länderna. Studien visade att debatterna mellan kyrkan och forskarna eller den Samiska befolkningen och forskarna inte hade en motsvarighet i Vanuatu. Detta var mycket tack vare Vanuatus forskningspolicy och den starka kristna tron i landet.</p>

Excavations of human skeletal remains are sometimes followed by claims for reburial from the local community. This has led to debates between researchers and other elements of society, churches or minorities. This scientific paper sat out to examine the discussions and debates found in Sweden (Scandinavia), with the situation in Vanuatu, (Melanesia). The objective was to elucidate similarities and differences in people’s attitude when it comes to reburial. Religious beliefs, legislations and policies were compared to provide explanations for the different attitudes in the two countries. The study showed that the debates found in the Swedish material such as conflicts between researchers and the church or between the Saami population and Swedish researchers, haven’t got a counterpart in Vanuatu. This was much due to the research policies in Vanuatu and the strong Christian faith. / Fynd av mänskliga kvarlevor i samband med utgrävningar följs ibland av krav på återbegravning från det lokala samhället. Detta har lett till debatter mellan forskare och andra delar av samhället, kyrkan eller minoriteter. Denna C-uppsats har försökt undersöka diskussionerna och debatterna som framkommit i Sverige (Skandinavien) och Vanuatu (Melanesien). Målet var att belysa likheter och skillnader hos människors inställning när det kommer till återbegravning. Religion, lagstiftning och policys jämfördes för att förklara de olika inställningarna i de två länderna. Studien visade att debatterna mellan kyrkan och forskarna eller den Samiska befolkningen och forskarna inte hade en motsvarighet i Vanuatu. Detta var mycket tack vare Vanuatus forskningspolicy och den starka kristna tron i landet.