Confronting historical legacies of biological anthropology in South Africa—Restitution, redress and community-centered science: The Sutherland Nine

PLOS ONE · 21 authors, 14 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

This paper describes the ethical restitution of nine San/Khoekhoe skeletons unethically collected in the 1920s and the community-driven scientific study of their remains, culminating in reburial. The central result is that interdisciplinary analyses documented the individuals' lives, diets, and movement, aiding families in reconnecting with their ancestors and heritage.

Full summary

1,000 CHARS

The study details the restitution process for nine individuals whose remains were unethically removed from a farm cemetery near Sutherland, South Africa, between 1925–1927 and donated to the University of Cape Town. The process was initiated by contacting descendant families and involved a public consultation and apology from the university. At the families' request, a multidisciplinary team conducted historical, archaeological, osteobiographic, genetic, and stable isotope analyses to document the individuals' lives. Key findings confirm San/Khoekhoe ancestry, indicate physically hard lives with evidence of abduction and forced labor for some, and show specific dietary and movement patterns through isotope analysis, such as one individual being captured around age 10. The process prioritized family consent and wishes, leading to reburial. The implications center on restorative justice, reconciliation, and demonstrating a model for ethical, community-centered bioarchaeological research.

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10208512

Confronting historical legacies of biological anthropology in South Africa—Restitution, redress and community-centered science: The Sutherland Nine

PLOS ONE

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Abstract We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their families, together with attempts at redress. Between 1925–1927 C.E., the skeletonised remains of nine San or Khoekhoe people, eight of them known-in-life, were removed from their graves on the farm Kruisrivier, near Sutherland in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They were donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Cape Town. This was done without the knowledge or permission of their families. The donor was a medical student who removed the remains from the labourers’ cemetery on his family farm. Nearly 100 years later, the remains are being returned to their community, accompanied by a range of community-driven interdisciplinary historical, archaeological and analytical (osteobiographic, craniofacial, ancient DNA, stable isotope) studies to document, as far as possible, their lives and deaths. The restitution process began by contacting families living in the same area with the same surnames as the deceased. The restitution and redress process prioritises the descendant families’ memories, wishes and desire to understand the situation, and learn more about their ancestors. The descendant families have described the process as helping them to reconnect with their ancestors. A richer appreciation of their ancestors’ lives, gained in part from scientific analyses, culminating with reburial, is hoped to aid the descendant families and wider community in [re-]connecting with their heritage and culture, and contribute to restorative justice, reconciliation and healing while confronting a traumatic historical moment. While these nine individuals were exhumed as specimens, they will be reburied as people.

CITATION EXPORT

Victoria E Gibbon, Loretta Feris, Joscha Gretzinger et al.. Confronting historical legacies of biological anthropology in South Africa—Restitution, redress and community-centered science: The Sutherland Nine. PLOS ONE. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284785

AUTHORS

21 · 14 CENTRES

Victoria E Gibbon, Loretta Feris, Joscha Gretzinger, Kathryn Smith, Simon Hall, Nigel Penn, Tinashe E M Mutsvangwa, Michaela Heale, Devin A Finaughty, Yvonne W Karanja, Jan Esterhuyse, Daniël Kotze, Nina Barnes, Geney Gunston, Je’nine May, Johannes Krause, Caroline M Wilkinson, Stephan Schiffels, Doreen Februarie, Sianne Alves, Judith C Sealy

1Division of Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
2Department of Public Law, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
3Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
4Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
5Face Lab, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
6VIZ.Lab, Department of Visual Arts, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch South Africa
7Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
8Department of History, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
9Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
10School of Chemistry and Forensic Science, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
11University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
12Office for Inclusivity & Change, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Transformation: University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
13Social Work Private Practice, Cape Town, South Africa
14The Cyprus Institute, CYPRUS