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Science 13 August 2004:
Vol. 305. no. 5686, p. 931
DOI: 10.1126/science.305.5686.931c
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ScienceScope

The British government is requesting public comment on a proposal that could require museums and academic collections to return human remains collected around the world. Department for Culture officials last month released a white paper (www.culture.gov.uk/global/consultations) recommending that scientists identify how bones or tissues became part of their collections and seek permission from living descendants to keep identifiable remains for study. It also calls for licensing institutions that collect human remains.

Indigenous groups have long campaigned for such measures, saying that anthropologists and others have collected remains without permission. But some scientists worry that the move could harm research by putting materials out of reach and lead to expensive legal wrangles over ownership. Society needs to "balance likely harm against likely benefit," says Sebastian Payne, chief scientist at English Heritage in London, adding that "older human remains without a clear and close family or cultural relationship" are probably best left in collections. Comments are due by 29 October.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)