Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
We often have access to skeletal samples of indigenous groups. This is becoming less
common in the United States due to laws such as the Native American Graves Protection
and Repatriation Act of 1990
9
and recent additions regarding culturally unaffiliated
human remains, but for some countries in Latin America for example cultural heritage
laws either do not exist, are not enforced, or do not protect skeletal remains. In these
instances, it is up to us to protect the remains. Many cultures have or had very specific
beliefs about the dead and you
must
respect that. You cannot dig up every cemetery to
look at skeletons “just because.” You must have a compelling reason to do so, such as
the site being in danger or the overwhelming scientific impact the information we could
glean would have.
Even when there is no evidence suggesting that the culture a particular set of skeletons
belonged to attached specific meaning to the remains themselves,
you must always treat
all remains with respect
. That is, you should view the fact that you are able to touch the bones
of a fellow human being as a privilege.
Different cultures will have different standards for treatment and respect of human
remains. Some descendant communities may not want non-group members touching their
ancestors' remains and others will not want the remains handled by anyone, regardless of
group membership. In other cases, the descendants may want trained investigators to do
research so that they can learn more about their ancestors. In some instances, it may not
be possible to associate skeletons with a particular living descendant community.
10
When
this occurs, you should follow our own cultural standards for treatment of remains. Never
forget that each skeleton once belonged to a human being, someone who had a family,
friends, hopes, and disappointments, just like you.
You should also ask yourself what the benefits are to doing your study. Is it merely “inter-
esting,” or will others benefit from the knowledge it generates? Will it contribute to scientific
knowledge and its advancement? Will it rely on or contribute to current thought and ways of
thinking? If your answer is “no” to any of these questions, then you need to seriously rethink
your project. Science moves forward, not backward; and it does so by holding projects to the
highest ethical standards. Each scientist is individually accountable for their own work in this
regard, and the scientific community as a whole is responsible for setting the bar high. See
White et al. (2012)
for a comprehensive discussion on ethical considerations with regard to
the study of human skeletal remains.
To summarize this section, thinking of an idea boils down to learning how to focus your
thinking about skeletal biology and discovering which topics excite and interest you most in
the field. Get comfortable with library research (see DiGangi [Chapter 17], this volume) and
start to learn what makes projects feasible. Even the best skeletal biologist was a beginner at
some point and had to learn how to do research. The process will become easier the more
practice you have with it. Finally, take advantage of your advisor's knowledge. Their job
is to guide you on your intellectual journey towards your degree and therefore they will
be one of the best resources available to you. Refer to
Figure 2.2
for a flowchart breakdown
of how to think of and develop ideas.
9
Public Law 101-601; 25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq. See discussion in DiGangi and Moore (Chapter 1), this volume.
10
See for example
Owsley and Jantz (in press)
about Kennewick Man.
