Two skulls returned to Brazil from Harvard's Peabody Museum

Two skulls believed to have belonged to Africans or Afro-Brazilians were returned to Brazil on Wednesday, more than 150 years after they were taken to the United States and used in racist eugenics research at Harvard University.

Repatriation

Brazilian diplomats carried the remains home on flights in reinforced cases sent as diplomatic pouches after a campaign of about four years to recover them from Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. They were received at ceremonies in Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, and at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro.

One skull was taken from Salvador about 190 years ago. It is believed to have belonged to a man who took part in the 1835 Malê revolt, when several hundred enslaved and freed African Muslims rose up in what was then one of Brazil’s most important cities. The uprising was crushed and about 70 rebels were killed. A US diplomat is thought to have sent the skull to Boston after the man died in a hospital.

The Bahia Islamic Cultural Center, which campaigned for the return, has named him Arakunrin, a Yoruba word meaning brother.

Less is known about the second skull, which was exhumed in Rio in the 1860s. It is thought to have been taken by a student on an expedition led by the Harvard naturalist Louis Agassiz, who traveled to Brazil to gather material for his theories of racial hierarchy. Brazilian officials said Harvard researchers had told them its features suggested it might have belonged to a woman.

Ceremony and next steps

Brazilian forensic anthropologists will now try to establish more about the two people, including their sex, and may seek permission for genetic or dating tests. The government has said the skulls will not be put on display and that no images of them will be released, and will be buried with funeral rites once the work is complete.

“It’s very important to restore the dignity of these people, which was taken from them in life and in death,” said Carolina Dias dos Reis, a government official who signed the agreement with Harvard in Boston.

At the Rio ceremony, Ivanir dos Santos, a historian and Candomblé cleric, poured water on the ground in a ritual of reverence as the case was handed over.

Why it matters

The existence of the skulls became public in 2022. Researchers said the request moved slowly until Brazil’s government took it up in late 2024. Brazil received more enslaved Africans than any other country and was the last in the Americas to abolish slavery, in 1888.

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Sources

• theguardian.com: Two skulls likely belonging to enslaved people returned to Brazil after Harvard used them in eugenics studies | Brazil | The Guardian
• theinsightinternational.com: Brazil brings home two skulls of likely enslaved people that Harvard used in racist studies - The Insight International

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.