Abstract
The exhibition of human remains in museums poses a controversial cultural challenge within public discourse and academic investigation. Facial depictions can be a valuable tool for museums and research institutions addressing this issue. However, further problematisation arises when dealing with remains from under-represented cultural communities in countries with a history of colonisation.
In 2021, an international collaboration between the Ministry of Cultures, Decolonization and Depatriarchalization of Bolivia, the National Museum of Archaeology - MUNARQ, and Eurac Research set the ground for scientific research. This collaboration aimed to develop an interdisciplinary project (MumBo, PI Valverde) focused on the first bioarchaeological study of pre-Columbian human remains from Bolivia. The MUNARQ collection comprises over 50 bodies, and over 500 human skulls linked to the Late Intermediate Period (1100-1450 CE) and potentially to the Inca Period (1450 – 1532 CE), many showing signs of artificial mummification and cranial modifications.
The present project aims to investigate the use of facial depictions as a tool to facilitate the ethical dissemination of ancient human remains. Facial depictions of individuals from the past are an effective means of contextualising human remains and communicating complex data derived from interdisciplinary studies. For this project, a combination of anatomical modelling and application of average tissue depth data will be employed to realise the facial depictions. At present, there are no published facial depiction studies pertaining to ancient Bolivian remains.
The project will utilise participatory co-design methods to ensure that the relevant communities are considered and involved throughout the process of investigation and dissemination. The use of facial depictions will implement existing knowledge of pre-Columbian population history, foster public interest in the cultural heritage represented by the MUNARQ collection, and, by involving local descendant communities, support ethical approaches to address scientific research for the study of human remains in Bolivia.