I acquired a human skull from an antique dealer in England. I was told that it was basically overstock from a museum collection. It was sort of an impulse buy and I did not think about the moral implications, nor did I understand the sourcing of human remains can be deeply unscrupulous. Here's a quote from an article that made me reconsider my actions and tried to figure out a way to make them right.
"Much, but not all, of the human remains trade, both now and in the past, is the powerful collecting the powerless. This has often meant trafficking in the bodies of Brown, Black, and Indigenous people. Sometimes these remains were stolen from graves or sacred places — the bones of the indigent, the racialized, the people treated as less-than-human. They were collected from the late 19th century to the late 20th century to further the scientific racism that was an unfortunate aspect of early anthropology, to create comparative collections in museums, and to fill medical schools. They were offered precious little dignity in life, and even less in death. "
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I didn't purchase from Instagram or anything like that, however the fact remains I don't know the sourcing and the idea of owning grave robbed remains of a possibly oppressed person makes me very uncomfortable.
I would like to find out as much as I can about the skull - age, sex, race (if possible). There are teeth that may be suitable for DNA testing if that's an option. Thank you for your time!