Auction house criticised over sale of 3,000-year-old mummy head
Summary
An auction house in Northern Ireland is selling human remains, including a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy head and a tribal skull from Indonesia. Experts and some politicians have criticized the sale, questioning whether it is ethical to trade in human remains, even if it is legal.Key Facts
- On The Square Emporium in Bangor, Northern Ireland, is auctioning two human heads: an ancient Egyptian mummy head and a Dayak tribal skull from Borneo.
- The Egyptian head is radio-carbon dated to between 750 and 800 BC and was brought to the UK by a British soldier during World War One.
- The Dayak tribal skull is also dated to around 800-750 BC.
- The auction house owner, Justin Lowry, says people see human remains as objects and collectors value them for their history and appearance.
- Anthropologists and a Labour MP argue that selling human remains is unethical and have called for new laws to ban the trade in the UK.
- A letter from the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarcheology raises concerns about how these remains were originally collected, often in unethical or illegal ways.
- There has been an increase in online sales of human remains, partly due to social media.
- Experts say the remains are still human beings, and selling them raises serious moral questions.
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