Who Owns the Dead? Legal and Professional Challenges Facing Human Remains Management in Turkey

Abstract

The management of archaeological human remains poses numerous ethical and practical challenges for archaeologists and museum personnel throughout the world. While several countries have developed extensive legislation and guidelines to ensure best practice, Turkey has no specific laws concerning the management of archaeological human remains. The current heritage legislation defines all archaeological materials, including human remains, as state property, a position which makes engagement with stakeholders seeking shared ownership or repatriation of these remains problematic. In the absence of adequate legislation and professional guidelines, a wide range of ad hoc practices have developed among professionals whose dominance in decision-making processes leaves little room for inclusive museum management practices, such as stakeholder consultation, co-curation, the insurance of equal access to museums, and the promotion of human rights. Through a series of interviews with archaeologists and museum professionals, an online visitor survey with 780 participants, and on-site observations in four museums in Turkey, this article examines the existing management practices concerning archaeological human remains and sheds light on various professional biases that have discouraged effective community engagement with this issue in Turkey. This article is intended as a catalyst for further discussion about a topic which has been largely ignored in Turkey by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (TMoCT), museum personnel, and archaeologists.