Off with the heads: Pitt Rivers Museum removes human remains from display

Title: Off with the heads: Pitt Rivers Museum removes human remains from display
Author: David Batty
Media Outlet: The Guardian
Publish Date: Sept. 13, 2020

“(…) under a major revamp to address the museum’s problematic colonial past, the heads, which inspired a scene in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, have been removed from display, along with 113 other human remains, including decorated skulls, scalps and Egyptian mummies.

“When the Pitt Rivers, one of the world’s most important ethnological museums, reopens later this month for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors will instead encounter an ethical display of its collection. This will address how exhibiting human remains has “reinforced racist and stereotypical thinking” of other cultures, portraying them as “savage, primitive or gruesome”, said the museum’s director, Dr Laura Van Broekhoven.”