CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Mutero, Prosper |
|---|---|
| Title | Conservation And Treatment Of Human Remains In Zimbabwean Museums: Infrastructure, Policy, And Practice |
| Summary | Zimbabwe’s long-standing history of archaeology, both academic and development-led research, continues to generate a growing corpus of ancient and recent human remains among other remarkable finds, presenting a prime context to study the preservation and presentation of mortuary heritage. This project specifically investigated aspects of the infrastructure, policies, and practices shaping and being shaped by the desire to preserve and present mortuary heritage ethically in Zimbabwe. Interest in the way human remains are recovered for research, preserved, and presented to the public in museum displays is on the rise, as societies across the globe tackle issues of ethics and repatriation. In countries with a colonial history like Zimbabwe and many in the Global South, the question of mortuary heritage also touches on the aspect of restitution, given the recurrent claims for parts of or whole human bodies that were taken to foreign lands by colonialists to be returned back home. This thesis aimed at establishing the various legal instruments and policies that have shaped the preservation and presentation of ancient and recent human remains in Zimbabwe, including an understanding of their similarities and differences with regional and international legal frameworks and local Indigenous knowledge systems. It was also aimed at assessing the facilities and conditions in which the human remains in Zimbabwean museums are curated. The results of this research were applicable recommendations and guiding principles for researchers and curators in the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) on the treatment of human remains. This research also provided step-by-step guidelines and recommendations on the treatment of human remains for researchers, curators, and policymakers in Zimbabwe. |
| Supervisor | Choyke, Alice and Jozsef, Laszlovszky |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/mutero_prosper.pdf |
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