Archaeologists are shedding fresh light on the origins of infant remains held in anatomical museums, revealing a troubling history of stigma, inequality and eugenic thinking.
The study explores collections of fetuses and infants from early colonial New Zealand housed at the W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum in Aotearoa.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, strong social and political pressures shaped who was seen as fit to reproduce.
Women who did not fit these expectations faced stigma, with their babies more likely to grow up in poor conditions and less likely to receive a dignified burial if they died.
The research shows that some of these deceased infants were added to anatomical collections, often without consent.
In many cases their identities were lost, and they were transformed from individuals into scientific objects.
Infants with disabilities were especially affected.
While they were marginalised in life, they were often considered valuable as medical specimens after death.
This reflects the influence of eugenic ideas, which ranked people and judged their worth to society.
The research is led by Professor Sian Halcrow, with co-authors including Professor Rebecca Gowland from our Department of Archaeology and researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand.
It is the first study to directly examine how social attitudes and systems of control shaped the collection of infant remains in this context and it highlights how discrimination experienced in life could continue after death.
Although the research focuses on historical collections, the findings have clear relevance today.
Professor Halcrow explains that the stigma surrounding single motherhood has not disappeared, and inequalities in healthcare and reproductive rights continue.
There have also been recent cases in the UK and elsewhere involving the retention of babies’ remains without families’ knowledge, showing that these issues are not confined to the distant past.
The researchers suggest that institutions holding human remains should take steps to address this legacy.
This includes carrying out detailed provenance research to understand where remains came from and how they were obtained, along with being open about the histories of collections, even when they may be difficult to confront.
Where identities can be established, the researchers call for engagement with descendant communities to help guide decisions about care, display and possible restitution.
The study also highlights the importance of educating people who work with such collections, so they understand their context and can make informed choices.
The research is published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology.
Main image is The Forth Street Maternity Hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. Taken in 1913, the photograph shows the women’s ward opening onto the balcony. Credit: National Library of New Zealand.
Professor Sian Halcrow is undertaking a four-year professorship in our Department of Archaeology to research the bioethics of the use, curation, and repatriation of anatomical skeletal collections. Credit: Edith Leigh Photography.
/filters:quality(70)/prod01/prodbucket01/media/durham-university/central-news-and-events-images/83431-1920X290.jpg)