Bioethics of Practice in Human Bioarchaeology and Paleopathology

In the past, bioarchaeological practice typically involved collaboration with only curatorial institutions, such as museums or universities, without engaging with descendant communities and/or other relevant partners and rightsholders. The knowledge produced from those studies did not benefit these communities and was rarely disseminated outside of academic circles. Bioarchaeologists today are making attempts to rectify past shortcomings by examining ethical praxis in conjunction with scientific research and have begun emphasizing more critical assessment of ethical behavior and implications at each stage of the research process. This has led to enhanced efforts to involve descendant communities and/or partners in decision-making surrounding research design and knowledge production. However, such efforts remain in their infancy, and bioarchaeology is still largely grounded in Western, colonial traditions.The goal of this topic section is to publish articles demonstrating best practices associated with analysis, curation, excavation, and repatriation of individuals recovered from archaeological contexts or currently housed in repositories or museums. The goal of this Research Topic is to solicit articles focused on changing past bioarchaeological practices that prioritized Western, scientific knowledge; ignored and/or abused the wishes of descendant communities and other relevant partners and maintained academic gatekeeping. We seek manuscripts that challenge current norms and center ethical practice as a core component of research. This might include more active collaboration with rights holders, training local individuals to conduct bioarchaeological research to return agency to that country over its dead, prioritizing repatriation of human skeletal remains over scientific research when warranted, expanding public outreach efforts, moving beyond legal requirements towards a more ethical practice, and more – all of which will be unique and specific to the legislative and cultural contexts of a particular country.In addition, contributions are encouraged that critically extend existing conversations rather than reiterating well-established frameworks, with an emphasis on emerging ethical challenges, novel approaches, and underexplored intersections between ethics, law, and practice.Proposed themes include (but are not limited to):-Ethical approaches to working with human skeletal remains-Collaboration with descendant communities and/or other relevant partners-Repatriation as Reparation: Exploring how processes of reburial and repatriation intersect with broader frameworks of repair, redress, and restorative justice-NAGPRA and related laws: Assessing the impact of recent regulatory changes, or examining legislative and ethical frameworks beyond the United States-Beyond the legal requirements: Ethics versus law-International repatriation-Reburial and Repatriation versus the Ethical Display and Curation of Human Remains: Who decides- reframed to foreground decision-making authority, accountability, and the negotiation of power among partners-The Ethics of 3D Models, Illustrations, and Photographs of the Bodies of Individuals-Teaching with Human Remains: Non-ethically sourced anatomy skeletons, 3D models of real individuals, etc. Topic editors: Ryan Patrick Harrod, Kirsty Squires, Lesley Gregoricka, Kathryn Baustian, Jayne-Leigh Thomas, Kimberly Anne Plomp, Aja Marie Lans, Aurora Marcela Pérez-Flórez Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/68633/bioethics-of-practice-in-human-bioarchaeology-and-paleopathology