The Hunterian Returns Ancestral Remains to South Africa

The Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow has returned ancestral human remains from its collection to South Africa, in collaboration with the country’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie. The repatriation was carried out through Iziko Museums of South Africa, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and the Northern Cape Reburial Task Team.


A South African delegation comprising representatives from these organisations travelled to Glasgow to bring the remains home. The official handover took place on 13 October 2025, during a special ceremony at the University of Glasgow. The remains have since been placed in the care of Iziko Museums of South Africa for reburial, with ownership formally reinstated to the Northern Cape Reburial Task Team, representing the descendant communities. “This long-overdue process marks a critical step toward healing, respect, and the restoration of dignity to our ancestors,” said Petrus Vaalbooi, Cultural Custodian of the Northern Cape San and Bushmen. “It allows our ancestors to return to the earth with honour, through rituals and ceremonies observed in accordance with custom.”


The Hunterian held the partial remains of six individuals, two plaster face-casts and a soapstone pipe - items unethically exhumed between 1868 and 1924 and donated by alumni and collectors. Five of the remains originated from the Northern Cape, associated with the San, Nama, Griqua and Korana peoples, while others were of Khoi San origin from the Western Cape. During the colonial era, ancestral remains were often taken without consent for so-called scientific research, leading to grave violations of cultural and human dignity. Institutions like The Hunterian and Iziko Museums once housed such collections, reflecting the exploitative practices of colonial and apartheid times.


This repatriation marks a crucial milestone under South Africa’s National Policy on the Repatriation of Human Remains and Heritage Objects, which provides a structured framework for returning remains and heritage items from foreign institutions. Guided by extensive consultation with Khoi and San leaders, the reburial acknowledges these past injustices and symbolises the reclamation of identity, culture and history.