A manuscript that details the Aboriginal human remains in Cambridge University's Duckworth Collection could assist the Australian government's repatriation team in identifying items.
The manuscript, which was allegedly handwritten by WLH Duckworth, was bought on eBay last year for £65.
Mike Pickering, director of the Repatriation Program at the National Museum of Australia, said: "It seems that in the case of the Duckworth manuscript, [human] remains that were believed to have poor provenance now have far stronger provenance."
The manuscript now belongs to Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an academic from the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne and an Aboriginal campaigner.
"The irony is that I was refused access to the archival records, as they relate to the Australian human remains collections, by professor Robert Foley in 1999," said Ormond-Parker.
In December 2008, the University of Cambridge drew up a procedure for handling claims for the transfer of stewardship of human remains.
But Ormond-Parker said it failed to go far enough: "It appears the university is not interested in a full and frank discussion about the Duckworth holdings or their historical context for fear that such information may result in repatriation claims or raise issues as to the legality of such collections."
A University of Cambridge spokesman said: "The guidelines provide a detailed basis for discussion. Because of this, they take into account not just historical context, but a wide range of criteria including cultural, scientific and educational value."
But the university did not comment on the manuscript. The Duckworth manuscript is temporarily being held at the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne. A digital copy is held with the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Canberra.
The manuscript, which was allegedly handwritten by WLH Duckworth, was bought on eBay last year for £65.
Mike Pickering, director of the Repatriation Program at the National Museum of Australia, said: "It seems that in the case of the Duckworth manuscript, [human] remains that were believed to have poor provenance now have far stronger provenance."
The manuscript now belongs to Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an academic from the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne and an Aboriginal campaigner.
"The irony is that I was refused access to the archival records, as they relate to the Australian human remains collections, by professor Robert Foley in 1999," said Ormond-Parker.
In December 2008, the University of Cambridge drew up a procedure for handling claims for the transfer of stewardship of human remains.
But Ormond-Parker said it failed to go far enough: "It appears the university is not interested in a full and frank discussion about the Duckworth holdings or their historical context for fear that such information may result in repatriation claims or raise issues as to the legality of such collections."
A University of Cambridge spokesman said: "The guidelines provide a detailed basis for discussion. Because of this, they take into account not just historical context, but a wide range of criteria including cultural, scientific and educational value."
But the university did not comment on the manuscript. The Duckworth manuscript is temporarily being held at the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne. A digital copy is held with the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Canberra.
Time for a policy change
"It is time for the University of Cambridge and the Leverhulme Centre to change their policy to allow access to their archives and historical records, as they relate to their entire collection of human remains material. The historical context of such collections should no longer be the domain of any single discipline."
Lyndon Ormond-Parker
"It is time for the University of Cambridge and the Leverhulme Centre to change their policy to allow access to their archives and historical records, as they relate to their entire collection of human remains material. The historical context of such collections should no longer be the domain of any single discipline."
Lyndon Ormond-Parker
