People of the past: Building a future for Scotland's archaeological human remains

Thompson, Jess; Knight, Matthew G; Owen, Kirsty; Maldonado, Adrià¡n; Simpson, Bethany; PodrÅ¾aj, Vesna

People of the past: Building a future for Scotland's archaeological human remains

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Thompson, Jess

ORCID

Knight, Matthew G

ORCID

Owen, Kirsty

Maldonado, Adrià¡n

ORCID

Simpson, Bethany

ORCID

PodrÅ¾aj, Vesna

Date published

January 2026

Abstract

National Museums Scotland holds one of the largest collections of archaeological human remains from Scotland. Following the creation of cutting-edge facilities to care for and study these remains, as well as recruitment of Scotland's first Curator of Osteoarchaeology. Jess Thompson, Matthew Knight, Kirsty Owen, Adrià¡n Maldonado, Bethany Simpson, and Vesna PodrÅ¾aj explore what excavated individuals can tell us about past populations, and consider ethical issues surrounding such research.