Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums

With Samuel J. Redman, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In 1864 a U.S. army doctor dug up the remains of a Dakota man who had been killed in Minnesota. Carefully recording his observations, he sent the skeleton to a museum in Washington, DC, that was collecting human remains for research. In the “bone rooms” of this museum and others like it, a scientific revolution was unfolding that would change our understanding of the human body, race, and prehistory. This illustrated lecture unearths the story of how human remains became highly sought-after artifacts for both scientific research and public display.











When: Thu., Mar. 9, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Where: New York Public Library—Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library
476 Fifth Ave. (42nd St. Entrance)
212-340-0863
Price: Free
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With Samuel J. Redman, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In 1864 a U.S. army doctor dug up the remains of a Dakota man who had been killed in Minnesota. Carefully recording his observations, he sent the skeleton to a museum in Washington, DC, that was collecting human remains for research. In the “bone rooms” of this museum and others like it, a scientific revolution was unfolding that would change our understanding of the human body, race, and prehistory. This illustrated lecture unearths the story of how human remains became highly sought-after artifacts for both scientific research and public display.

Buy tickets/get more info now