HISTORY OF MEDICINE / ARCHÆOLOGY: A Question of Ethics and the History of Medicine
This entry is written in response to a question from a student. As a historian one of my research specialisms is in the history of medicine and one of my other research foci is the archaeology of disease and palaeopathology. As such a major part of my research has involved the physical evidence of human existence and interaction with disease - bones. Human remains. And as such there are several highly important ethical considerations in relation to my research. I’ve decided to set out, broadly, the system of ethics I use when it comes to both teaching, writing, studying and also in dealing with a wider audience - both in terms of non-specialists and the general public. I hope that this exposition may prove useful as an, albeit brief, summary of what might be considered good ethical practice. There has bene extensive debate over the display of human remains in the context of museums - given all the associated ethical questions, and the legacy of racism and colonialism with which, ...