This was in the "3/6/97 Daily Report fron ACADEME TODAY. I think it is of interest to anthropologists in general and is specifically directed to archaeologists. What is your opinion? How do we balance competing "goods" in the names of science and justice? Chuck Ellenbaum ><> Prof of Anth & Rel Stud College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA >>>>MAGAZINES & JOURNALS A glance at today's issue of "Nature": Ethics, archaeology, and the remains of ancient peoples The rights of indigenous peoples often clash with the interests of archaeologists when the researchers want to study the skeletal remains of those groups' ancestors. Such conflicts should be resolved in terms of what is best for all of humanity, argue D. Gareth Jones and Robyn J. Harris, professors in the department of anatomy and structural biology at the University of Otago, in New Zealand. In an opinion essay, they write that "when skeletal remains are recent and direct links to indigenous peoples today can be established, the interests of those groups become paramount." But, they contend, when material cannot be traced to a specific individual -- and especially when it cannot be linked to a certain group -- its value to humanity "is much greater than the stake claimed by specific interest groups." What ancient remains can teach us about human development and culture outweighs the concerns of any one group, the scientists argue. They add, however, that archaeologists must always share what they learn with the people whose ancestors they are studying, because "this is their material to 'give.'" (The magazine may be found at your library or newsstand.)<<<<