Human remains are bodies and parts of bodies of once living people. This can include whole or part skeletons, individual bones or fragments of bone and teeth, soft tissue including organs and skin, embryos and slide preparations of human tissue.
Some of these remains were obtained in circumstances now considered unacceptable. For example, some were acquired between 100 and 200 years ago from indigenous peoples in colonial circumstances, where there was a very uneven divide of power.
A number of interested parties now claim rights over some of these human remains, including genealogical descendants, cultural communities, custodians and the scientific community.
Human Remains Advisory Service
The Human Remains Advisory Service (HRAS) helps smaller museums deal with claims for the return and repatriation of human remains from their collections.
The HRAS consists of a team of specialist advisers, who can provide professional and independent advice on specific issues relating to a claim for repatriation.
Museums and other institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who want to request advice, should read our Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums, which sets out the procedure for dealing with requests for return. The guidance does not relate to museums in Scotland, where separate guidance is being considered.
We would expect museums to have formally endorsed the procedures set out in the Guidance or to have developed their own fully documented procedures before submitting a request for advice to the HRAS.
Apply for advice:
Museums should complete the request for advice form and send it to us at the address given on the form.
Human Tissue Authority
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) provides guidance for institutions which have human tissue in their collections of less than 100 years old and which will be required to hold a licence from 1 September 2006. For more information on this, see the HTA's website.
Further information on human remains can be found on the Cultural Property Advice website.
