Human remains are a unique type of archaeological artifact because of the emotional and cultural ties to living descendants that can still affect the living today. Museums have acquired sets of human remains over the decades by various means like purchases, donations, and grave robbing. The ethical and legal process of displaying and having ownership of human remains has been questioned in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom because both have extensive human remains collections from multiple different cultures. While there are human remains in institutions other than museums that have to abide by the same laws, this thesis will focus on human remains in museums. The history of how human remain collections came to be has shaped how museums handle repatriation or possession of the remains. The laws and policies in the US and UK have changed over the decades to reflect a new attitude of how museums have begun to be more ethically acceptable.
","abstract_html":"<p>Human remains are a unique type of archaeological artifact because of the emotional and cultural ties to living descendants that can still affect the living today. Museums have acquired sets of human remains over the decades by various means like purchases, donations, and grave robbing. The ethical and legal process of displaying and having ownership of human remains has been questioned in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom because both have extensive human remains collections from multiple different cultures. While there are human remains in institutions other than museums that have to abide by the same laws, this thesis will focus on human remains in museums. The history of how human remain collections came to be has shaped how museums handle repatriation or possession of the remains. The laws and policies in the US and UK have changed over the decades to reflect a new attitude of how museums have begun to be more ethically acceptable.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Steele, Cassidy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Art in Art and Design (MAAD)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Art and Design","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith","Dr. Flora Anthony","Dr. Phillip Kiernan"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-07-04T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-07-04T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:58Z","subjects":["Human remains","museum","museum policies","museum ethics","laws","ethics","Art and Design"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/art_etd/1","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith","Dr. Flora Anthony","Dr. Phillip Kiernan"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Steele, Cassidy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-08-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Art and Design"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Art in Art and Design (MAAD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Human remains","museum","museum policies","museum ethics","laws","ethics","Art and Design"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/art_etd/1"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Human remains are a unique type of archaeological artifact because of the emotional and cultural ties to living descendants that can still affect the living today. Museums have acquired sets of human remains over the decades by various means like purchases, donations, and grave robbing. The ethical and legal process of displaying and having ownership of human remains has been questioned in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom because both have extensive human remains collections from multiple different cultures. While there are human remains in institutions other than museums that have to abide by the same laws, this thesis will focus on human remains in museums. The history of how human remain collections came to be has shaped how museums handle repatriation or possession of the remains. The laws and policies in the US and UK have changed over the decades to reflect a new attitude of how museums have begun to be more ethically acceptable.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["HUMAN REMAINS IN MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS: LAWS AND POLICIES"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith","Dr. Flora Anthony","Dr. Phillip Kiernan"],"dc:creator":["Steele, Cassidy"],"dc:date.available":["2022-08-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Human remains are a unique type of archaeological artifact because of the emotional and cultural ties to living descendants that can still affect the living today. Museums have acquired sets of human remains over the decades by various means like purchases, donations, and grave robbing. The ethical and legal process of displaying and having ownership of human remains has been questioned in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom because both have extensive human remains collections from multiple different cultures. While there are human remains in institutions other than museums that have to abide by the same laws, this thesis will focus on human remains in museums. The history of how human remain collections came to be has shaped how museums handle repatriation or possession of the remains. The laws and policies in the US and UK have changed over the decades to reflect a new attitude of how museums have begun to be more ethically acceptable.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/art_etd/1"],"dc:subject":["Human remains","museum","museum policies","museum ethics","laws","ethics","Art and Design"],"dc:title":["HUMAN REMAINS IN MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS: LAWS AND POLICIES"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Art and Design"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Art in Art and Design (MAAD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:58Z"}