William Matthew Flinders Petrie was a legendary figure in the histories of archaeology and anthropology, recognised for his disciplinebuilding efforts and his contributions to various intellectual paradigms including eugenics and anthropometry. Of lesser renown, however, is the donation of his own head to the collections of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London. This paper sets that donation in the context of Petrie's lifelong investment in curating other people's heads and in building representative museological collections for teaching and research. The authors situate the curation of Petrie's head in the genealogy of his own scholarship and curatorial practice and, in so doing, initiate a conversation about the power of human remains to generate debate, critical reflection and reconsiderations of both historiography and future museum practice.
This special issue gathers together a selection of short articles reflecting on the historical construction of inequality and race in the histories of archaeology. The articles also suggest ways in which the discipline might grapple with the-often obvious, sometimes subtle-consequences of that historical process. Solicited via an open call for papers in the summer of 2020 (one made with the aim of speedy publication), the breadth of the topics discussed in the articles reflect how inequality and race have become more prominent research themes within the histories of archaeology in the previous five-to-ten years. At the same time, the pieces show how research can-and should-be connected to attempts to promote social justice and an end to racial discrimination within archaeological practice, the archaeological profession, and the wider worlds with which the discipline interacts. Published at a time when a pandemic has not only swept the world, but also exposed such inequalities further, the special issue represents a positive intervention in what continues to be a contentious issue.
Typecast explored ideas around race and archaeology, heredity and eugenics in the early twentieth century. After independent consultation, I decided to write about the exhibition from my own perspective and publicly identify myself as curator. As part of my own response, I drew parallels with contemporary events and issues today. This paper incorporates a discussion of: the implications of using my personal identity; how situations could have been handled differently, the myth of neutrality, especially around contentious issues, within museum and media institutions, anonymous responses from visitors and identified critical voices; ethical responsibility in dealing with provocative issues, how wider discussion in a public realm was facilitated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.