Human Remains Research Project
About the project
This research project seeks to understand better different publics attitudes and responses to the display of ancient human remains at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, with an initial focus on Egypt.
200 visitors were invited to complete an online survey upon their departure of the Museum between July and November 2022. The questions, which were predominantly qualitative and naturalistic in nature, aimed to capture the way visitors engaged with, reacted, and responded to the curation and display of human remains in physical and 3D visual formats within the Museum’s exhibitions. This component of the research was approved by the University of Sydney's Human Research Ethics Committee. Project No. 2022/379.
Concurrently, we are working closely with Egyptian descent communities. To date, the topic of human remains has formed part of a weekend of intensive focus groups held with 17 members of the Egyptian community from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, a co-written discussion piece for Egypt’s largest online media platform in English, 'Egyptian Streets', and a meet and greet followed by a survey with people identifying as Egyptian from the local Sydney area. We also have an Egyptian museum professional on staff, and a community Whatsapp group. To read more about our Egyptian community engagement initiative, see here.
In October 2024, we also launched a new strand to this research by undertaking roundtable discussions in Egypt with 20 specialists who work closely with human remains both in museums and the field. This included decision makers in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, museum curators and conservators, field archaeologists, and university academics. The discussions were facilitated in English and Arabic by Dr Faten Kamal, Curator, Egyptian Museum Cairo.
What we are doing with the results
The data gathered from this research informs a set of culturally specific guidelines for the display, care, treatment and interpretation of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains at the Museum.
Following on from this work, we have devised a three-phase plan to reframe the Chau Chak Wing Museum's approaches to ancient human remains.
Phase 1
Removal of the body parts on display in 'Pharaonic Obsessions' and 'The Mummy Room' and the installation of a new replacement display in the latter focused on funerary masks.
Phase 2
Reframe the language and messaging seen across all physical and online platforms of the Museum.
Phase 3
Review, adapt and implement the project model to the wider Nicholson Collection of human remains from Jericho, Cyprus and France.
We are also presenting and publishing widely, including at national and international conferences, peer-reviewed journals, public lectures and media interviews.
- M. Pitkin, Discussion session ‘Museum ethics and human remains’, History and Philosophy of Science Honours students, University of Sydney, 24 October 2022.
- M. Pitkin et.al. 'Dialogues on display: Centring visitors and source communities in discussions regarding human remains in museums', Australian Museums and Galleries Association National Conference, 16-19 May 2023.
- M. Pitkin 'An Ethical Conundrum? Egyptian mummified human remains in Australia' History Teachers Association State Conference, 13-14 Jul 2023.
- M. Pitkin, ‘An Ethical Conundrum? Egyptian mummified human remains in Australia’, discussion session with curators from the Museums of History New South Wales (MHNSW), 9 August 2023.
- M. Pitkin, ‘An Ethical Conundrum? Egyptian mummified human remains in Australia’, guest lecture, History and Philosophy of Science Honours students, 19 October 2023.
- M. Pitkin, ‘The ethical complexities of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains in museums’, Centre for Critical Thinking and Ethics, Newington College, 14 February 2024.
- R. K. Power, ‘Bodies and Ethics. Treatment, Display and Scientific Analyses of Human Remains’, Nerang High School, QLD, incursion to Macquarie University, 19 April 2024.
- M. Pitkin, J. Carruthers, A. Doubleday and R. K. Power, ‘The Ethical Complexities of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains in museums: A case study of innovative practices implemented at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, Sydney’, Fourth Annual Meeting of the Mediterranean Archaeology Australasian Research Community (MAARC), Macquarie University, 17 July 2024.
- M. Pitkin, “The Ethical Complexities of Human Remains in Museums: A Case Study of Innovative Practices Implemented at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, Sydney”, ICOM-UMAC – UNIVERSEUM conference, TU Dresden, Germany, 28 September 2024.
- M. Pitkin, R. K. Power, A. Stevenson and J. Carruthers, “Ethical Approaches to the Care and Display of Ancient Egyptian Human Remains in Museums and the Field”, Egypt Exploration Society, British Council, Cairo, 3 October 2024.
- M. Pitkin, R. K. Power, J. Carruthers, A. Stevenson and F. Kamal, “Ethical Approaches to the Care and Display of Ancient Egyptian Human Remains in Museums and the Field: Perspectives from Egypt”, USYD Archaeology seminar series, Vere Gordon Childe Centre, 22 October 2024.
- Pitkin, Melanie, Carruthers, Jacinta, Cecilia, Rafiela, Doubleday, Alexandra and Power, Ronika., “Innovative approaches to caring for ancient Egyptian mummified human remains at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, Sydney” in C. Richards and E. Minchin, Mediterranean Collections in Australia and Aotearoa: Perspectives from Afar (Routledge, forthcoming).
- ABC, 'Stuff the British Stole, Episode 2: Australia's Egyptian Mystery', 24 June 2024.
- ABC News, 'Should we display mummified remains? The conversation is changing', 24 June 2024.
- Wall Street Journal, 'A New Bone of Contention: Trigger Warnings in Archaeology Class', 1 June 2024.
- Smithsonian Magazine, 'Australian Museum Removes Mummified Body Parts From Display', 30 April 2024.
- The Art Newspaper, 'Showing respect in the house of the dead: Australian museum removes mummified human remains', 29 April 2024.
- ArtsHub, 'Museum takes a stand on displaying body parts', 9 April 2024.
- Cosmos Magazine, 'Museum removes Egyptian body parts from galleries', 8 April 2024.
- TimeOut, 'A Sydney museum has removed human body parts from its Ancient Egypt display', 5 April 2024.
- Channel 9 News, 'Sydney museum removes ancient Egyptian human remains from public display', 5 April 2024.
- 2GB (radio), Afternoons with Michael McLaren, 5 April 2024.
- 2NURFM (radio), Drive, 5 April 2024.
- 2WEB (radio), 5 April 2024.
- Eagle FM 93.5 2SNO (radio), 5 April 2024.
- 2UE (radio), News Bulletin, 5 April 2024.
- The World, 'Mummies are people too. So, should they be on display?', 20 February 2024.
- Sydney Morning Herald, 'Mummified body parts to be removed from Sydney museum amid intense global debate', 28 January 2024.
- The Sun-Herald (print), 'Museums grapple with mummy of a dilemma', 28 January 2024.
This is a collaborative project comprising:
Internal investigators
- PI: Dr Melanie Pitkin, Senior Curator, Nicholson Collection
- Co-I: Candace Richards, Assistant Curator, Nicholson Collection
External investigators
- Professor Ronika Power, Macquarie University
- Jacinta Carruthers, Macquarie University
- Dr Rafie Cecilia, University College London
- Dr Faten Kamal, Egyptian Museum Cairo
Project volunteers and interns
- Alexandra Doubleday, Macquarie University
- Simon Wyatt-Spratt, University of Sydney
- Sabrina Baron, University of Sydney
- Zara el-Mahir, University of Sydney
This project has been approved by the University of Sydney's Human Research Ethics Committee. Project No. 2022/379 and 2024/HE001124
Header image: The Mummy Room at the Chau Chak Wing Museum