Exploring the ethics of great ape skeletal remains research: historical perspectives and contemporary solutions

Abstract

While ample discourse considers the ethics of human skeletal research and curation, an absence persists regarding great ape skeletal remains, despite clear interest in ethical treatment of living apes. Here, we trace the history of great ape remains in natural history museums, contextualizing these ape bodies in a colonialera of collection and curation and the violence this entailed. We consider the enduring influence that this historical context has had on scholarly pursuits and offer a set of practices for research and curation of great ape remains. The proposedinterventions involve the restoration of individual identity, narrative, and memory, coupled with an integration of contextual reflexivity and decolonial theory.