A German cultural institution has started an investigation into the true origin of around 1,000 human skulls from the country’s former colonies in Africa.
The Prussian Cultural Heritage (SPK) foundation took over the collection of the skulls from Berlin’s Charite hospital and medical school in 2011.
The skulls are believed to have originated from what is today Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and Mozambique.
In a statement released on Thursday, SPK confirmed that it had commissioned the probe, and that it would be conducted at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
“In recent years, they have been first of all elaborately cleaned and preserved conservatively. In order to clarify their origin, the responsible scientists have set up a research database and carried out preliminary searches at foreign archives,” it said.
The skulls are part of a bigger collection that was brought to Germany in the 19th and early 20th century by a German anthropologist.
In order to clarify their origin, the scientists have set up a research database and carried out preliminary searches at foreign archives.
The project is set to run for two years, and will serve as a model for the future research on the provenance of the remaining human remains.
Scientists from various disciplines will work together in the project, including ethnologists, anthropologists and colonial history experts.
