Since the Pitt Rivers Museum was founded in 1884, ancestral human remains have formed part of the collections. These ancestors originate from different countries and different points in time, and were likely acquired without the informed consent of the communities they were taken from. Some of these remains, which include human skin, bone, hair, teeth and nails, have been modified into artefacts; others are skeletal remains that come from burials or other mortuary contexts.
The Pitt Rivers Museum is committed to treating ancestral remains with respect and dignity, and accepts that the historic acquisition of human remains is not in keeping with our current practice, values and ethics. It is a priority of the Museum to take proactive steps towards ensuring the appropriate care, shared stewardship, respectful research, and ethical repatriation of human remains. This includes working with communities to discuss the future of their ancestors and agree ways forward. This also means changing the way that remains are discussed, documented, researched, displayed or stored, in accordance with their descendants' wishes, whilst still in the care of the Museum.
Information on ancestral remains in the collections has been publicly available for many years on our online database (https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/search). Use the links below to see the complete holdings of ancestral remains in the collections, organised by geographic region. This includes skeletal human remains, as well as all artefacts incorporating human skin, bone, hair, teeth and nails.
The Museum is actively researching the identity and provenance of these ancestors, in collaboration with descendant communities, and some details are likely to change because of this work. We hope that by linking to saved searches in the online database (rather than providing static listings), the information will always be as up to date and accurate as possible. Out of respect for the ancestors and their descendants, all human remains records are protected by a sensitivity warning, which viewers must accept before being able to access any information, and no images of the remains are available online.
We are keen to talk with communities about the future care and repatriation of ancestral remains in the collections. Should you require further information about any of the ancestors, wish to discuss their acquisition by the Museum, or want to request exports from the database in a different format, please do not hesitate to contact objects.colls@prm.ox.ac.uk.
Guidelines for submitting a repatriation request can be found at https://prm.ox.ac.uk/returns but please do reach out to us in advance of making an application, in case there are ways we can help to make your claim as successful as possible.
Press enquiries relating to human remains in the Pitt Rivers Museum or previous repatriations should be sent to press@prm.ox.ac.uk.
Lists by Geographical Region
Ancestors from Africa
Ancestors from Asia
Ancestors from Oceania
Ancestors from Northern America
Ancestors from Latin America and the Caribbean
Ancestors from Europe
Unprovenanced ancestors
This search will display a list of unprovenanced human remains. These remains were found in the Museum or its stores with little or no associated information, and as such it is currently not known where the ancestors originate from or how they were acquired.
