I'm posting this cut and paste with the author's permission. It comes under ethics, since the treatment of the ancient dead isn't confined to Egyptology; the science of forensic archaeology has meant literally tens of thousands of human skeletons stored in museums or university laboratories. The vexed question of how to treat or display those remains is a hot potato in the fields of both archaeology in general, and Egyptology in particular Kara Cooney - Egyptologist. . Should mummies be on display in museums? Should coffins be opened in press conference type settings? These issues are blowing up within Egypt society right now, evidenced by the attached article. It's an important topic. As someone who studies coffins myself, I am of two minds. On the one hand, if you cover your person and your burial with gold and riches, I can't expect any other human reaction than a re-commodification of that material-through theft, treasure hunting, tourism, museum display and ticket sales. Mummies were created specifically to draw the gaze of an exclusive group of other high elites, to prove their superhuman ability to avoid decay itself. Wrapped mummies were meant to work on the minds of lower status groups of ancient Egyptians to manufacture power. My work focuses on how elites created such social power through their burials, looking at ancient theft and reuse of coffins to stay in the game even when economic crisis hit. I can justify, in my mind at least, the social importance of such research. On the other hand, these are Egyptian bodies. We in the United States have stopped (or should have stopped) displaying the bodies of Black and Indigenous people in our "natural" history museums and other places. Such sensitivity is important. Many Egyptians feel uncomfortable with the commodification of their ancestors, and I understand that. There must be other ways of releasing such discoveries to the public. On a personal note, when I find myself in the presence of an ancient dead person (laying in a coffin under my study), I say hello, in my way. I treat that body with respect. I try to make my work a gift to their continued presence. But I nonetheless try to figure out how bodily preservation still works on our simple human minds today, but wow, it does...
Uproar after scholar bans excavation of Egyptian mummies. al-monitor.com . .
