Thank you for your interest in the Written in Bone website

Written in Bone was an exhibit that closed in 2014 that focused on the study of human remains to understand more about individuals, their lives, and culture. It also touched upon forensic anthropology, a sub-field of biological anthropology that involves applying skeletal analysis and techniques in archaeology to solving criminal cases. The Written in Bone website was developed to enhance the information available in the exhibit. 

We have recently made the decision to take down the Written in Bone website and would like to share with you some background information about this decision. 

In recent years, museums have been reckoning with the methods and means by which they have acquired some of their collections, including human remains. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is no exception. 

Many of the remains in Smithsonian collections were acquired without informed consent – permission from the individual, their families or their communities - and in ways that are not consistent with modern standards.  We acknowledge that some of the practices of our past may not have been acceptable then and are certainly not acceptable today.  

We have a duty to these people and their descendants to champion the changes that reflect our current values and priorities.  We believe that all human remains must be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to the appropriate care, shared stewardship, research use, or ethical return of human remains. 

This includes refraining from displaying human remains in the museum or online without the explicit consent of the individual, their descendants, or their communities. As we do not have such permissions for individuals featured in Written in Bone, we have removed the website. 

We understand that Written in Bone has been a useful and popular teaching resource for teachers and their students.  We hope you will explore our Teaching Resources and School Programs for other content to support your teaching.   

More information about the Smithsonian’s efforts in this regard may be found on our Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns webpage.