The Resurrectionists | A Morbid Archaeology and History Podcast

Who owns human remains and fossils and who decides?In this episode of The Resurrectionists, we examine the legal and ethical debates surrounding fossils, human remains, and cultural heritage with legal researcher Paul Stewens. From blood amber mined in war zones to hominin fossils held in European museums, we explore how law, science, colonialism, and ethics collide.We discuss fossil ownership, repatriation, and museum responsibility, unpacking cases such as Myanmar amber, Brazilian dinosaur fossils, Java Man, and the Broken Hill skull. This episode asks who truly owns the past — and what ethical archaeology and paleontology should look like moving forward.🎧 Love mysteries? Watch more episodes and dive deeper into the stories!https://bit.ly/resurrectionists👉 Explore more mysteries and exclusive content here!https://linktr.ee/theresurrectionists💡 Got a case in mind? Suggest new episode ideas here!https://bit.ly/episodesuggestionsGuest InfoWebsite: https://paul-stewens.comResourcesBen G Thomas. A Tiny Dinosaur Head Has Been Found in Amber - But At What Cost?. https://youtu.be/hec2jMiqK44?si=rHx4WZkul6qBj1K1.Black et al. Hominin Heritage: How Institutional Repositories Are Managing Collections, Collaboration and Repatriation. South African Journal of Science 121 (1/2). https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2025/18569. 2025.Champney et al. Human, Animal, or Mineral? Ethical Considerations for Studies of Fossilized Hominin Remains. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 187(3), https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70085. 2025.Cisneros et al. Digging deeper into colonial palaeontological practices in modern day Mexico and Brazil. Royal Society Open Science, 9(3), 10.1098/rsos.210898, 2022.Discussion about the return of the Broken Hill skull before the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation. https://youtu.be/hIF_Br8ZeT0?t=17551.Dunne et al. Ethics, law, and politics in palaeontological research: The case of Myanmar amber. Communications Biology, 5(1), 10.1038/s42003-022-03847-2, 2022.Joannes-Boyau et al. ‘Owning Humankind: Fossils, Humans and Archaeological Remains’. Heliyon 6 (6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04129. 2020.Musonda, P. Decolonising the Broken Hill Skull: Cultural Loss and a Pathway to Zambian Archaeological Sovereignty. African Archaeological Review, 10.1007/s10437-013-9134-3. 2013.Raja et al. Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding of deep-time biodiversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6, 10.1038/s41559-021-01608-8, 2022.Sarr, F., & Savoy, B. The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics. PDF, 2018.Stewens, P. P. Burmese Amber: Palaeontology’s Blood Diamonds Through the Lens of International Law. Völkerrechtsblog, 2021.Stewens et al. The Return of Fossils Removed Under Colonial Rule. Santander Art and Culture Law Review 8(2), https://doi.org/10.4467/2450050XSNR.22.013.17026. 2022.Stewens, P. P. 'Ubirajara' and Irritator Belong to Brazil: Achieving Fossil Returns Under German Private Law. International Journal of Cultural Property 30(3), https://doi.org/10.1017/S094073912400003, 2023.UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. The economic interests of the Myanmar military: Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (A/HRC/42/CRP.3). ReliefWeb, 2019.MusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Behind locked doors, entire lives were recorded — and then forgotten.In this episode of The Resurrectionists, Dr. Alexandra Lord explores the hidden histories of 19th-century asylums; places of care, control, silence, and secrecy. Through archival records, institutional spaces, and the people whose lives were shaped behind locked doors, we examine how mental health, disability, and social difference were understood in the past.From forgotten corridors to sealed files, this conversation looks at what survives in the historical record and what was deliberately erased. We discuss the role of institutions, the power of archives, and how historians and archaeologists attempt to recover voices long excluded from official narratives.🎧 Love mysteries? Watch more episodes and dive deeper into the stories!https://bit.ly/resurrectionists👉 Explore more mysteries and exclusive content here!https://linktr.ee/theresurrectionists💡 Got a case in mind? Suggest new episode ideas here!https://bit.ly/episodesuggestionsGuest Infohttps://alexandramlord.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-lord-ab2260b/MusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

he only thing more terrifying than facing Napoleon’s army was being wounded by it.Step onto the brutal battlefields of the 19th century as we explore the shocking reality of Napoleonic military medicine. From the legendary speed of Dominique Jean Larrey’s "flying ambulances" to the grueling experience of surgery without anesthesia, historian Dr. Nebiha Guiga joins us to reveal how the wounded actually survived—or didn’t.🎧 Love mysteries? Watch more episodes and dive deeper into the stories!https://bit.ly/resurrectionists👉 Explore more mysteries and exclusive content here!https://linktr.ee/theresurrectionists💡 Got a case in mind? Suggest new episode ideas here!https://bit.ly/episodesuggestionsGuest Infohttps://www.amazon.fr/bless%C3%A9s-Napol%C3%A9on-Nebiha-Guiga/dp/2379338507https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ihb/personen/guiga-nebihaMusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Discover what archaeology looks like in the world’s most dangerous places.In this episode, archaeologist and former UN peacekeeper Kevin MacDonald reveals how conflict zones, closed borders, and off-limits military landscapes hide some of the best-preserved ancient sites on Earth.From no-man’s-lands to desert buffer zones, we explore how war accidentally protects the past—and the unexpected discoveries made where few people are allowed to go.🎧 Love mysteries? Watch more episodes and dive deeper into the stories!https://bit.ly/resurrectionists👉 Explore more mysteries and exclusive content here!https://linktr.ee/theresurrectionists💡 Got a case in mind? Suggest new episode ideas here!https://bit.ly/episodesuggestionsGuest InfoInterviewshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxYwSVaHidc&t=161shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmp9ooQRNY4&t=150shttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/what-its-like-to-be-a-250952632/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwH_ONxkDeo&t=249sArticleshttps://www.academia.edu/85661494/Living_With_The_Lake_The_Archaeology_of_Lake_Settlement_in_Loughrea_and_the_Surrounding_Landscapehttps://www.academia.edu/27311015/PEACEKEEPING_ON_THE_EDGEhttps://www.academia.edu/22330434/The_Archaeology_of_OP_55https://www.academia.edu/5808754/Patrolling_the_Berm_Discovering_the_Landscape_Archaeology_of_Western_SaharaMusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/

What really happens beneath the surface of our cemeteries? In this episode of The Resurrectionists, I’m joined by Dr. Helen Frisby and Prof. Stuart Prior to uncover the hidden world of grave diggers, burial archaeology, and the strange (and sometimes explosive) secrets of modern and Victorian cemeteries.🎧 Love mysteries? Watch more episodes and dive deeper into the stories!https://bit.ly/resurrectionists👉 Explore more mysteries and exclusive content here!https://linktr.ee/theresurrectionists💡 Got a case in mind? Suggest new episode ideas here!https://bit.ly/episodesuggestionsGuest InfoHelen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-helen-frisby-580ba895/ Stuart's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-stuart-prior-24002874/Paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00794236.2024.2356653 Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Traditions-Death-Burial-Shire-Library/dp/1784423777/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AO91RY97VEOK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.USD9lXMGDWmM-SxzGHSgrYIjj6qvuEN7TiLWVpdcP-0.thzl0gCtQlEQp_0P4mvIGO0XpVtwDA8gbFoJpS4GEjU&dib_tag=se&keywords=helen+frisby&qid=1756201886&sprefix=helen+frisby%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1 MusicDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com/