Opinion response exercise
Should all hominid remains be returned to native peoples?
I have highlighted 19 opinions that were frequently cited by other students in the class as either especially well expressed or as giving new insights. RMR 9/24/02
This one will be due next Tuesday (9/24) by classtime.
The "global warming" opinion was due by classtime Thursday 9/12.
Please read through the directions first before starting to read the opinions.
Instead of asking everyone to read all the responses, which I think might be overwhelming, I will divide it up as follows:
· If your name begins with the letters A to D, please read responses 1 to 16.
· If your name begins with the letters E to K, please read responses 17 to 32.
· If your name begins with the letters L to N, please read responses 33 to 48.
· If your name begins with the letters O to Z, please read responses 49 to the end (currently 65).
The order of the responses is random. Chances being what they are, the 4 sets will probably differ somewhat. You are welcome, of course, to read responses outside your own set if you have time and interest.
If you do not see your response below, do not planic, but please do let me know. There are 89 people registered for the course and 65 responses, so as of about 4 pm on 9/19 I am missing 24.
Note: Though I am not following a strict 100 word policy (maybe we should increase the permitted maximum)), many of the opinions are over 100 words, and some are over 200.
1. The natives of the sites where the bones were dug up deserve to be compensated for letting the paleontologist come in. If they desire the bones back, then can't we make casts of the bones? That way we can still research but at the same time we can respect their culture. Even if these people didn't personally know the ancestor, they still believe in the spirit of the dead. We must value their traditions and their feelings toward death and burial. How would we feel if one of our relatives was dug up in a cemetery? I know that I would want the bones to be back in their resting place. We need to be sensitive towards other people and their beliefs.
2. Hominid remains should in fact be returned to native peoples.
How would it be any different if scientists were to dig in a cemetery
in the future? Would the progression of time decrease how sacred the
remains of our loved ones are? I would hope not.
The decision should be left to the descendants of the remains.
If there is information to be learned from a culture it should
be left up to the native people of that culture. The remains of
a person are perhaps one of the most sacred things on the planet, and
we should respect the wishes of the descendants of those remains.
3. The question of what should be done with hominid remains is a difficult one to answer. It is easy to see how native peoples could be offended by the removal of their ancestor's remains from a sacred burial place. In their eyes, it is a matter of disrespect for the dead and a matter of drudging up spirits, which have been long since dead and buried. On the other hand, it is no secret that these fossils are part of the science of history. By studying the remains of ancient humans we can better understand our own evolution. It is for this purpose that fossil hominids cannot be returned to native peoples; because they must be kept in a place where they can be studied. But what is to be done about native peoples who claim ownership of their ancestors? Well, for one thing, human remains which are only a few decades old should certainly not be kept in museums. These remains have little scientific value and are the property of those native people who lay claim to them. However, when it comes to fossils, which are thousands or millions of years old, how can any one people claim them as their ancestors? In fact, these remains are so old that they may be considered the ancestors of all people, and therefore, scientists have just as much right to them as any native peoples. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
4. I don't think that hominid remains should be returned to natives. What is the reasoning behind that? How would they benefit from them? Museums and scientists could take the remains and find a better picture about where WE come from. We might even discover a little window to the old question, "Why are we here?" Everyone should be exposed to these remains. It would help everyone to realize that we are not all superior beings; we came from a primitive form, just like every other creature on Earth.
5. The rights over human remains is a highly volatile subject right now. The United States has made a major leap in the past decade to make sure that Native American bodies are not removed from archeological digs and that other bodies are returned. I agree with this policy because it is not ethical to take a person from their eternal resting place especially if that person and its people believe that it should be undisturbed. As for more ancient cultures like Egypt for example, it is harder to distinguish ownership between the discoverer and the current government of the land. Which should own the rights has unfortunately become much more of a political question as opposed an ethical question.
6. I personally feel that all remains of hominids and other assorted ancient peoples should be returned to their native decedents. It's not only stealing to keep these locked away, it simply is fair to those who deserve to know what their ancestors were like. Imagine your grandfather lost a pocket watch. Nothing valuable, but it was sentimental to him. If your next-door neighbor dug it up, and kept it, how would you feel? The case of arguing that all man should be free to witness these finds isn't good, because like a group of pacific coast Indians did, they created a museum of their ancestors remains and finds to share with not only themselves, but the public as well. (Frequently cited as a new insight.)
7. I feel that any hominid remains that are found for research purposes should only be borrowed from native peoples for study and then safely returned. If it is allowed by the native peoples to keep the hominid remains then of course we should keep them but otherwise they should just be returned to their natural environment. It would not be fair to take something from people just thinking that it has no value to their life or culture. And to add a thought, I think that knowing whether humans evolved from an earlier life form or not would have no difference in the way people would view or live their lives because everyone mainly has their own beliefs in creation already.
8. I do not think that all hominid remains should be returned to their native people. I guess it depends on the circumstance but for the most part if a body would help us learn more about the death, or how the person lived, it should be used for science. Once a person is dead they are gone. It all depends on how important the remains were.
9. Paleontologists should not always be required to return hominid remains. If the remains have already been on display in a museum for a period of time, the museum should not have to surrender them. Unmarked remains of an ancient human have no true owner. If a tribe or group feels very strongly about having the remains, perhaps they could work out an arrangement where scientists make a cast of the remains and return them to the native people when they have finished studying them.
10. Hominid remains should not be returned to their own people because the remains should be used for scientific purposes. Does anyone really own these remains? I think that they would be much more beneficial in the hand of experts, who can interpret the remains and deal with them accordingly. I understand that there is a moral side to this as well, however in my opinion, science should come first in almost all situations, except for when it is harmful to others.
11. Ancient hominid remains should not be given back to the natives for burial. If something has been on display for a number of years, it would be silly to remove it from exhibition and bury it. Hominid remains should remain above ground so that scientists can continue to study them and compare them to newly discovered bones and artifacts. All in all, I believe that science is much more important to the rest of the world than some small tribe's religious beliefs.
12. I think that it is too hard to say whom the hominids belong too. Unless there is a clear way to distinguish what race of people the hominids are, then it is impossible to say that they belong to one group of native peoples. Millions of years ago, it is unclear if different nationalities and groups of people existed, why should hominids be arbitrarily designated to a particular race or group? Just because they were found in a particular area does not mean that is where they lived. (Frequently cited as a new insight.)
13. It is always important to respect the culture and religion of native peoples. If human remains are found on, say, an active Native American reservation, and these remains have been tended and looked after and the area is still actively used as a burial ground, the remains should be left as they are. We wouldn’t dig up one of our own graveyards if it were still in use. If remains are found at an abandoned site, and nothing is recent, but there are still descendants of the people around, after scientific study is performed and the remains are treaded with due respect they should be at least offered to the natives. After all, they might just say that you can go ahead and put it in a museum. It is always a sign of respect and consideration if you ask first. On the other hand, if you find remains from an Australopithecus on the land on a modern native African tribe, it shouldn’t be necessary to ask the native for permission to take the remains. All in all, remains that aren’t from the same period as local native and weren’t treated as part of the native’s culture should be fair game. However, if an older artifact was somehow part of the native tradition, permission should come from the natives. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
14. Native tribes that clearly show that hominid remains are culturally linked to the tribe can recover their remains under the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act. This act is a result of the controversy between scientist, who argue that the remains can hold knowledge of early human life, and native tribes, who want the remains to be reburied in a means of respecting the deceased hominid and its descendants. It is often difficult for tribes to produce concrete evidence of its ancestral background and the benefit that may be gained in the field of science from studying these remains is tremendous. I believe that the excavation of the remains must be undertaken with respect to the deceased, and the tribe in which it belonged, but in benefit to society, as a whole, the remains must be removed and evaluated. (Frequently cited as a new insight.)
15. I feel that hominid remains should remain where they perished even if it is millions of miles away from their native people. I believe that we should not disturb the dead and waste tons of money to move them across the world because it seems like the proper idea. They have a respectable burial place where they lay and to try and justify such an action on the parts of the archeologists is a mistake. The remains should stay where they were discovered and that way the scientists will be able to research how and why they died in this area rather than risk contamination of fossil remains in a move to a different burial site just because that is where they spent most of their living days. I agree that is a nice gesture to try and reunite them with their families and carry on the memories, but they are deceased and will not no the difference either way. So hominid remains should not be returned to their native people, but rather left alone and researched in the area of their deaths.
16. I understand why the native people would be angry with the taking of the bones. Their culture is much different than ours. We focus on technology and searching for answers. Their way of life deals with the spirits and the gods and they must not disturb this. In your e-mail you gave the suggestion that the bones should have a study time before being reburied. I agree with this completely. If the bones can be researched and found to be some of the most ancient bones on the planet, then that is a huge find in the scientific world. I know that these cultures do not understand such things, and for their rituals they do have the right to those bones. If they want them reburied or not disturbed at all, I understand. But if they could see the amount of data that could be obtained, it would be appreciated my the scientific field to allow the raising of the bones.
17. I think that if it is clear that a certain set of retrieved bones belong to a specific tribal group that they should be returned to THAT tribe after a period sufficient enough to study the remains. Life and death play an important part in many of these societies and their beliefs- these bones do belong to their respective tribes and should be returned.
18. I feel that this issue relates back to our growing egotism as a people. Today, if we wanted to dig up remains of a body, we would need very explicit permission from a number from different people. However, because these hominids have been dead for many years, we feel that it’s okay to dig them up with no permission from anyone? Just because they have been dead for many years, doesn’t make them public property any more than the deceased in the more modern cemeteries. And of course we believe that as long as we slap on the title of "scientific research", we are free to do anything, with blatant disregard for anyone or anything else. Just let the dead lie. (Frequently cited as a new insight.)
19. Hominid remains should be returned to the native people whom they belong to if there is substantial evidence that those remains are related to the native people. These were once living human beings and should be treated with the dignity that any human body would be treated with. Subjecting their bones to the humiliation of being a display in a museum for the public to gape at is dishonoring them. Basically researchers are grave digging. If there is proof that the remains are indeed part of the native people in the area of the dig, then the researchers should collaborate with the natives. This way they can study the remains to learn more about human history, but then return them to the natives for a proper burial and putting the bones to rest.
20. I do not think that all hominid remains should be returned to the native peoples because I believe that they should be studied to get as much information as possible from them. If it so happens that the native peoples can study the remains better than anyone else then they should have them, but if someone else may do a better job at analyzing them then I believe that they should have the rights to the remains. Therefore, in the end I believe that the hominid remains should be under the care of the persons that will study them the best.
21. I think that all hominid remains should be returned to the native peoples that are from the tribe they once belonged to. It is part of their custom to keep things like that around. I think it is appropriate for the scientists, or whoever is interested in them, to study and make observations, in order to learn more about that era and the people that lived in it. I think that for a certain amount of time, the remains could also be featured in a museum, but they should ultimately be returned to the native people. A friend of mine works as a correspondent between the Native American Museum in New York City and the Native American tribe that he is part of and his job is to make sure that all of the artifacts that the museum borrows are returned to them when the display is taken down. I think the same thing should happen with hominid remains. It's part of his or her ancestry; we shouldn’t take that away from anyone, even for science. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
22. The returning of hominid remains to native peoples depends completely on the situation. Two questions are essential; who found the remains, and are they important to natives? If a scientist unveils remains that no one was aware of, then the scientist should technically have property of the bones. If the native people didn’t know about the bones, they cannot be considered an essential religious/cultural essence. However, if the native people possess the bones, scientists have no right to intrude on people’s beliefs and way of life. Native people should have right over the remains that play an intricate role in their society, but scientist cannot sacrifice findings, even if they seem insignificant. Who knows? Hominid remains can become important over time (such as how the foot bones that proved early humans lived in trees were sitting in a box for months).
23. I think that hominids should not be returned to native peoples because so much can be found out about them. How they evolved further into what we are now, how they lived, what they could have looked like, and what the climate was like so many hundreds of years ago. If the remains were returned to their native peoples, nothing would be learned about them and the past.
24. I think that if it is important to a society to have their ancestor's remains stay buried, then we should respect their wishes. If it important to medical research that we should examine those remains, then we should do so only for a limited time, and then return the remains to the ground. Who knows what psychological damage we could be doing to these cultures by ruining their burial sights. If they have special feelings about the sights, and we just go in there with our tools and brushes and dig up any remains we can find, of course they're going to have certain negative feelings towards us that we won't be able to change. If we respect their wishes, maybe we could find a way to cooperate and share the burial grounds but remember to treat everything with respect, as one should always do when dealing with a different society. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
25. I think this is a particularly hard question to answer based on the fact that it really would depend on the specific case. Some finds may be a lot more important and pressing than others. I suppose a reasonable middle ground would be to return remains once they have been exhaustively studied. Culture and traditions are important to maintain but it is also important for scientific knowledge and development.
26. I don't think that hominid remains
should have to go to native peoples. Hominid remains are 2
million years old. Chances are, they are not directly related
to the people living in the countries where they are found. Dinosaurs
don't have to be returned to the people who live in the countries
where they are found, do they? I think that hominid remains fall into
the same category as animals. They are not exactly the same, but
almost. If actual human remains are found, that is not the same
thing. A human could be a relative of the native people and
should be returned. A hominid is probably not, and therefore
the native people do not have a claim on them.
27. There are many different cultures that have certain traditions concerning their dead. When excavations or accidental discoveries find new, unearthed skeletons or fossils of humans that walked the earth hundreds, thousands, and maybe even tens of thousands of years ago, it is incredibly exciting because we can learn many things from these bones. We can look at the surrounding area to see if they were buried in a certain way, or notice a certain way they were positioned. We can learn many things from these peoples. Some cultures ask that the remains be returned to them for a proper burial. I honestly can't come to a conclusion of what should be done. I'm glad I don't have to! On one side the bones should be returned out of respect, but on the other hand the remains need to be studied for educational and scientific research. I think that every case should be treated on an individual basis. If the remains similar to ones that are found have already been discovered, I think the remains should be returned because we already have a basis for research and don't need extra remains. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
28. I do not believe that all hominid remains should be returned to native peoples. Hominid refers to members of the human family. Early hominids that have been discovered are vital links of where humans today have come from. I think they are essential for studying and are the key to learn how people evolved. People are always interested in the past and the unknown. I think once they are done being studied they should be put on display for people to see first hand and learn about.
29. Hominid remains should be returned to the native peoples. Not returning them would be like keeping one of your family members remains from a proper burial. After the discovery of the hominid remains, information should be gathered. When all the tests, studies, and knowledge are collected from the bones, researchers have no reason to keep the remains from the rightful group. Museum's can cast the bones if they are wanted for display. Respect goes both ways and in the future a particular group might come forward with some new remains or important information about there ancestors.
30. Finding hominid remains is a daunting and difficult task all
on its own. Since we don't find them often any discoveries that
are made are considered to be monumental. I think it is in the
better interest of science for the remains to be studied and looked
over and most of all dated. Being able to put a time frame on
past human life is something that can be very beneficial to the
science world. Just because the remains may be of a specific
tribe from long ago does not give the current tribe rights to
ownership. Especially if we are talking about remains that are
thousands of years old. How do the native peoples know that the
remains weren't giving a proper burial at the time? Also I feel
that the remains have passed their "time frame" of a proper
burial. If it was an entire body I could see why you would want
to bury it but they are bones, some of which! we are unsure of who
they actually belong. At this point it seems redundant to
rebury what we have just unearthed. I feel that the display and
study of the hominid remains has more benefits than reburial by their
descendants.
31. The answer is
quite simple...no! We are far more advanced than some nomadic tribe
who believes in sacrificing animals to a god that does not exist.
These native people are hungry and dirty and if more advanced people
like us needed their land we would assimilate them into our culture.
We would use the bones to further advance scientific research. The
native people would just let them sit in the dirt and decay. The
native people say that the bones are important to their religion and
would anger their gods. Well then, let me ask you this, if their
"Gods" were so good to them, then why did the "Gods"
have their worshipers live in shacks in the middle of nowhere and go
hungry and wear rags for clothes?
32. I believe that hominid remains should not be returned to native people because from my understanding to be considered a hominid the fossils need to be fairly ancient. There is no way to determine if any existing relatives or related people are still alive. Such as Lucy she is too old for any native people to claim her remains. With all due respect to religion but when did science start to take into consideration others set of beliefs. I'm not knocking scientists value system but since the idea of man being related to apes first arose it was completely against the accepted Christian Values of the time. Just because people do not agree with it does not mean they are going to be taken into consideration. If that were the case we would not be doing anything in life because someone always disagrees with it in one way or another. But because of these irregularities it's what makes science what it is. We are always questioning. So, remains that are relatively still young should not be messed with because who really cares about a 100-500 year hold skeleton. It won't tell you anything about our past and could be our relatives for all we know. Such as Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Grandpa.
33. Yes, I think hominid remains should be returned to native peoples. The remains of their ancestors are their own property. If researchers want to study the remains, the native people should be the ones to make the decision if the remains are studied or not. Ideally an agreement should be reached whereupon the scientists would be allowed to perform their studies, after which the remains would be returned to the native peoples. If the native peoples insist the immediate return of the remains then perhaps a sample could be extracted from the remains assuming the native peoples agree--for the scientists to study. One of the fears of native peoples is that the remains will be desecrated by being placed into a museum or otherwise examined. In this case, their desires should be respected in order to preserve good relations with them. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
34. This is a tough question. On one hand the remains could be of some value to the native people, in a spiritual sense. Since scientists are taking something out of the ground the natives could view that as bad luck. Some native tribes see taking things out of the ground as upsetting spirits if something is not put back to replace it. If something isn’t then it could cause them bad luck. On the other hand, though, the remains are very important to the research of the human race. The remains could be needed for further study that could result in more evidence being found or new things being discovered. This is a very though question and I’m not sure of the correct answer.
35. I believe that all hominid remains should be returned to native peoples. I know there is a huge controversy because native peoples believe the soul of the deceased cannot rest until the remains are properly buried, but scientists insist that it is vital to study such remains. If the remains being scrutinized and picked apart for tissue or cell samples were a relative, however distant, I too would fight to have them returned to hallowed ground. While valuable information could be obtained from the hominid remains, is that information worth the price of desecrating graves? Ignoring the genuine arguments of the native peoples on this subject reflects negatively upon scientists. Shouldn’t the acquisition of knowledge be a process in which both parties can participate? Ethnographers, those who study specific cultures today in order to understand past cultures, should study the present culture of the native peoples to learn about the life of the hominids found, rather than rob the native peoples of their peace of mind. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
36. On the topic of returning hominid remains to native people I think that you can make an argument either way. I believe that it is important to give the native peoples back the remains of their ancestor. Many cultures have very strict burial methods and if they are not followed they believe that the deceased person will not go to the "afterlife" that the culture believes in. On the other hand it is very important to study hominid remains. It might be that in that single specimen a great breakthrough is discovered in how ancient humans lived and because of the natives beliefs it could be missed. I believe that scientists should be able to study these remains but in the end they should be given back to the native people to be laid to rest. The scientist do not have to keep the real remains, they could take samples and then make a cast of the skeleton. I think that this is in the best interest for both sides.
37. I believe that hominid remains should be available to be returned to native groups, if requested. There is no question that the remains are essential to universities and research institutions in order to further assemble the fossil record of human ancestors, however, after all the information has been collected from these remains, why shouldn’t they be returned? I am reminded of the Yanomami people of South America who unwillingly gave blood samples to geneticists for experimentation and the vials are still held at the University of Pennsylvania. The Yanomami people feel violated and want the blood returned so that they may bury it in the appropriate ceremony. We have to take native concerns into consideration into account not only for ethical purposes, but if we expect their assistance in the future in providing science with access to more remains or research materials. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
38. These fossils can be a great tool for discovering information about the history of human beings. However the option should be given to their descendants as to whether or not they are used for scientific purposes. They should be returned to the native peoples with the question of whether those people would be willing to allow scientists or museums to further study them. There is nothing wrong with displaying fossils of humans; in fact it’s educational for our society. However the people putting these items on display should have the consent of the native people that are the rightful owners of the remains.
39. While the remains of ancient peoples can certainly be considered gravesites, I do not think that they are necessarily the property of their ancestors. There is so much to be learned from hominid remains that electing not to study them would be a loss for society as a whole. These remains can give us insight in regards to evolution. Due to the fact that evolution relates to all humans, it could be argued that the earliest humans are relatives of the entire human race. If those remains were studied, further information regarding those peoples would be available to their tribes. Overall, those tribes would gain more in regards to their past than they would if they had the skeletal remains.
40. Hominid remains found should not necessarily be returned to the native peoples. In many cases, there is not enough proof to determine whether those remains are part of that specific native group. Unless there is a great amount of evidence, the remains should be kept by the scientists and used for study purposes. These remains hold the keys to learning about ancient man. Without the use of these bones much information that we have learned would still be a mystery. Perhaps after the bones have been studied and conclusions have been drawn the bones can be returned to their native descendants.
41. The beliefs and values of other cultures must be respected, even when those beliefs interfere with science. Therefore, I feel that hominid remains should be returned to its native people. On behalf of scientific discovery, however, I believe that a panel should be established. This panel, consisting of both scientists and members of the native culture, could work together to come up with a compromise on how the remains will be handled. In all cases, I think it would be best to allow for scientists to examine the remains for an agreed upon period before reburial.
42. The debate over the return of hominid remains to their present-day descendants is one with no clearly drawn line between right and wrong. While there is a need for paleontologists and others working with such remains to be conscious of the possible violations against native peoples, an understanding needs to come between the parties involved so that the remains that are found may be used for the benefit rather than the detriment of those involved. The insight and information that hominid remains bring to light concerning human evolution and the possible scientific breakthroughs they present cannot be overlooked, yet exploitation of these discoveries for personal monetary gain at the expense of native peoples must also be avoided.
43. Traditionally, throughout time and history, a native people have been able to dictate the handling of remains of their own kind. Bloodlines, and cultural practices, always tie more closely than country lines or governmental laws; consequently, these aspects of life should be the guidelines by which we adhere to when dealing with remains. In many cultures, remains of the dead are quite sacred, and can signify bad luck (or worse) of they are not returned to their people. For these reasons, hominid remains should always be returned to their native peoples. (Frequently cited as a new insight.)
44. Finding hominid remains is something very rare but very valuable as well. It helps the scientists of today learn more about where we came from and how we evolved. However I believe that the remains should be given back to the natives who rightfully deserve them. Perhaps even if owned by the natives, the hominid remains could still be observed by scientists so that we can further our knowledge. Or the scientists could purchase the remains from a native so that the native is at least getting something in return.
45. I think remains found should be studied, and then returned to their closest living descendents. While there is an incredible amount to be learned from remains, some dating back millions of years, they were at one time a person, and deserve respect. If there are no people that claim them, they can be kept. Put in a museum or school where students and people from all over the world can study them as well.
46. This question is a hard one to answer. There are both good and bad aspects for both sides. First off, I believe that it would be good if hominid remains were returned to the native people. In a way, they deserve them. I believe that the remains are more a part of them than are anybody else, and in that case, it makes more sense to give the remains to the respected native people. All groups have different cultures and different traditions. Proper burial may be a large part of some cultures, and if the remains are not returned to them, then we are inhibiting them from following their beliefs. The fact they that don’t have the remains of their ancestors could be very devastating for them. However, if the remains were to be returned to these people, then it would inhibit the amount of knowledge that the rest of the world could ascertain if the remains were not returned. The world as a whole would be able to benefit from new discoveries made about our past, and this would only happen if the remains stayed in the hands of experts. As one can see, there are definitely pros and cons to each side of the argument. I stay undecided on what should be done with hominid remains. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
47. Should all hominid remains be returned to native peoples? I don’t think that hominid remains need to be returned to the place they were found, by the point at which they are found, their souls have already left, their bodies have been decomposed, many of their bones have already been decayed, I think that at this point all that’s left are bones, and all that they are really good for is, for us to learn about our ancestors. I also don’t think it is a reasonable request, to have them buried again, because there are so few that are really good, they need to be preserved and kept.
48. If you specifically read this weeks question it is quite easy to form an answer. ALL remains should not be returned. This is for many reasons. If these bones that are found are outdated then we cannot be certain that they belong to the groups who try to claim them. An evaluation system should be set up that the bones would go through to rank or scale a percent that they match the group trying to claim them. Because this must be short one more point should be considered and that is would they break in transit?
49. I believe that after tests and studies are done the remains should be returned to the native tribes, but only if the tribe finds it important to their belief system. If they don't they should be put in a museum for the whole world to appreciate. I do not have a single opinion as to whether or not hominid remains should be returned to the native people; my opinion instead relies on what the situation of the remains is. I believe that if they are of some significant value (extremely old, extremely rare in an area, or show some new scientific evidence about the evolution of humans) then they should be kept for scientific research. On the other hand, if they are fossils, which are more common and would be of less of a use to scientists then the native people should be allowed to have the remains back. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
50. Hominids are obviously older than many people can even comprehend. It would be a nice jesture, but not entirely necessary to return a hominid’s remains to native peoples. A hominid's remains would be much better served as a useful scientific item. Hominid remains are more rare in most cases than that of any kind of animal that roamed the earth at that time. Anything that can be found on them is a positive for science.
51. I believe that all wanted remains should be returned to the relatives of the tribes whom the individual belonged to. I think that it is the native people's right to bury their fellow loved ones as they wish, not let them be put on display. We, as a culture, treat our dead with the respect of a proper burial, and I think these people deserve the same respect. True, scientists can learn a lot from the bones and artifacts of these people, but respect for their culture should come before the knowledge profited from it. We need to respect the wishes of these people, and allow them to preserve the sacristy of the burial of their people.
52. I believe that hominid remains must be returned to their native’s people. These remains are important to these cultures because they give the cultures a link to their pasts. Besides a link to the past, many of these cultures are very spiritual and a proper burial must be prepared for the bodies. It is important that something like spirituality is preserved and it is also important that science doesn't interfere with this. Furthermore, these ancient people should have the right to the bodies or the right to give it up for scientific research.
53. My first reaction was...it’s a matter of finder’s keepers. Whoever finds if whether it is scientists or the "average Joe" then they should keep it. Then as a thought about it I realized that such things might have extremely important ties to the native peoples cultures. It would not be right to take away from them the bones of an ancestor that has great ritual meaning to them. Finally, I came to the conclusion that if scientist are to find such bones in the natives land, they should be able to study it, and hopefully most tribes would be able to comply with that. After sufficient time to study the bones they should be returned to the people of the land to do with what they will. They were originally part of their property and they should remain that way. How would you like it if someone stole something off your land and you could do nothing about it? Scientist should study them and return them. (Frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion.)
54. The remains of hominids are artifacts that are valuable to the understanding of human evolution. These remains should be kept in the science laboratory for a continuing study of hominids and our past ancestors. Once these remains have been thoroughly examined, they should be kept in museums or other laboratories throughout the world for everyone to gain a better understanding of human ancestry. I do not believe that giving the remains back to natives really matters. I don’t think that they would want anything to do with the remains seeing as though they are already deceased and pose no real value to them. Keeping these remains for further study would be much more valuable as a whole than returning the remains to the native peoples.
55. If these people really want to have the remains of their ancestors returned to them, then so be it. They do have a certain right to them, because of their lineage, but if my ancestors were discovered in some kind of patch of ice, I would definitely donate them to a laboratory or museum for further investigation. I think it's kind of selfish to keep the remains, breakthrough evidence and insight into our beginnings can be discovered from these remains. On a moral level, I don’t think it right or wrong to keep them, it's all based on your personal beliefs. I think that it would be to hard to give them ALL back to the native peoples because I would presume that some have been lost and that many of the people have lost touch with their ancestors. What I mean by lost touch is that they may not have even known the people that the museums and such have and that it would mean something to them to have their heritage back, but after other people having it, it may not mean as much and may have lost some religious and spiritual significance.
56. Hominid remains should not be sent to native peoples. How do we know who the native people even are? If we want to study remains that are very similar to today's human beings then we must take them to a lab to be researched and learned about. If studying these remains will give us a better understanding of we came to be then we should definitely not return them to what we think are the natives.
57. I think that if it can be proven that the remains are the actual ancestors of the peoples requesting the remains than they should definitely be returned to those peoples. However, before they are returned I think they should be properly studied so that the information that may be gathered from their remains is gathered and thus not lost to us again. If it cannot be proven that the remains are not those of the peoples requesting them then they should be kept by the scientists who would study them. It would be a waste of information though if the remains were returned no questions asked to the peoples who have most recently settled or who have lived longest in an area.
58. Ethically, yes, the fossils should be returned. In today’s age however, this maybe not be possible. These hominids lived over a million years ago, and the chances of the people wanting their ancestors back are slim. It cannot even be determined for sure who the fossils are ancestors of. People are always migrating around the globe. Today, they are used for research, something that would not be done if returned. The people would not know what to do with the bones and they would not go to good use. (Frequently cited as a new insight.)
59. I believe hominid remains are very important for research. I also believe that if a museum or research group or organization has discovered ancient fossils, they should be able to keep them, only if there are going to be put in use at one point in time. Also I believe if the remains have been in a museum for over 50 years, the museum should have the right to do what they want with the fossils. Some people may argue that museums should give the bones back because of Native American cultural traditions of burying their ancestors bones for religious reasons, but those fossils may let us find out much information about 10,000 years ago.
60. I do not think that all hominid remains should be returned to native peoples. I think this because these remains, if returned, will not be scientifically researched or used to anyone’s benefit. I believe that these remains should be examined and actually used. They are only being used for scientific research, which to me is an excuse not to have these hominid remains returned to their native peoples. These remains are needed to understand the evolution of man, and also what life was like ages ago. So I am a strong believer in keeping the remains and having them put to good use.(Frequently cited as a new insight.)
61. I guess I'm not quite sure what the issue here is. Is it asking, "Should scientists not be able to study hominid remains"? If that’s the case, then no way. What purpose would the natives have for the hominid remains that would be more useful than what scientists are doing? The scientists and archaeologists work really hard on hominid remains to try and determine a link between hominids and modern humans.
62a No, I do not think that all hominid remains should be returned to the native peoples. It is like the saying "finders keepers, losers weepers." If the natives want their hominid remains then they can go dig them up themselves.
62b. Hominid remains should not be returned to native peoples. First of all, these remains are thousands, some even millions of years old. Too old to even be considered ancestors of modern native peoples. If the remains were just a few hundred years old, I could justify the claims of the native people, but seriously, these bones are so old that many of them look more like chimpanzee remains than human! Secondly, Hominid remains are vital to unlocking the past of our entire race. Studying these bones tells us so much about how we evolved over time and where we came from. Native peoples greatly value their past, so they should have no problem with scientists studying million year old bones to reveal our history, of which we know so little about.
[Note to readers: 62 a and 62b, written by different authors, were originally combined on this page accidentally. Interestingly, they express similar opinions and the "one" opinion was frequently cited as an especially well expressed opinion and as a new insight!]
63. I don't not necessarily believe that all hominid remains should be returned to their natives, however I feel that the natives should have a say in what is done with the remains. For example, if the natives would like to keep the remains, they should be entitled to do so. On the other hand, if the natives are willing to give the remains to science, that is cool too. I honestly feel that it should be souly up to the natives whether the remains are kept or given away to science.
64. Fossil hominid remains should be used for scientific data and research. There is no need to return them to the native people unless they were dug up from a burial site on accident. Scientists or archeologists have just as much right to keep the hominid remains as the native people because neither of them knew the person or even knew anybody from that time period in which they existed. In conclusion, the scientific benefits outweigh any moral or ethical obligations to return the hominid fossils to the native people.
65. In response to the question, I would say I do not think all of the remains should be returned to the native peoples of a certain area. First off you can't always know whether or not the remains were from that specific group. I believe that the remains from hominids should be placed in museums, so we can view them, and learn about our roots from them. If the remains are only 100 or so years old, I believe they should return to the natives, but if they are very old remains, we should keep them in a museum.