Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums

by Samuel J. Redman

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.

In Bone Rooms Samuel Redman unearths the story of how human remains became highly sought-after artifacts for both scientific research and public display. Seeking evidence to support new theories of human evolution and racial classification, collectors embarked on a global competition to recover the best specimens of skeletons, mummies, and fossils. The Smithsonian Institution built the largest collection of human remains in the United States, edging out stiff competition from natural history and medical museums springing up in cities and on university campuses across America. When the San Diego Museum of Man opened in 1915, it mounted the largest exhibition of human skeletons ever presented to the public.

The study of human remains yielded discoveries that increasingly discredited racial theory; as a consequence, interest in human origins and evolution--ignited by ideas emerging in the budding field of anthropology--displaced race as the main motive for building bone rooms. Today, debates about the ethics of these collections continue, but the terms of engagement were largely set by the surge of collecting that was already waning by World War II.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Anthropology, Archaeology, Death, Race

408 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2016

About the author

Professor “Sam” Redman studies U.S. social, cultural, and intellectual history. He received his B.A. in anthropology and history from the University of Minnesota, Morris and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American history since 1607 at the University of California, Berkeley.

Redman is the author of three books. His first book,  Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums was published by Harvard University Press in 2016. Bone Rooms was selected as a Choice Top-25 Outstanding Academic Title, Nature Top-20 book of 2016, and Smithsonian Top History Book of 2016. His second book, Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology (Harvard University Press 2021) explores the history and legacy of salvage anthropology. A third book, The Museum: A Short History of Crisis and Resilience will be published by NYU Press in 2022. The Museum traces how cultural institutions responded to episodes of crisis over the past century in the United States.

He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Amanda Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bone Rooms covers the history of physical anthropology in relation to science professionals collecting bone specimens for museum collections in the late 19th century and early 20th century. In that regard, it was very informative. Otherwise, I found the book a bit repetitive with its focus on Hrdlicka's racial hierarchy focus in the Smithsonian. It felt like a mix between a survey on about a century of bone collecting and a focus on Hrdlicka's work. Still was informative, but it felt like it needed a little more of something, maybe even broadening the scope to global instead of purely American, to make it a great book.

[Shannon Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you ever see a skeleton in a museum, and wonder “where did it come from?” Did this person donate their body to science? Was it dug up for display? Was it stolen from a Native American burial ground in New Mexico? For a culture that largely believes that human remains are sacred, we sure have a lot of them on public display. And for every bone on display behind glass, there are hundreds more hidden away—tagged, measured, and kept in boxes on shelves in temperature-controlled museum storage rooms. Where did they all come from? Who collected them? Why were they chosen?

Samuel Redman answers these questions and many more in Bone Rooms. In the late 1800s, to the early 1900s, massive human remains collections were fervently built, studied, and shown off at traveling fairs, medical schools, museums, research facilities, and in private homes throughout America. The urgency to collect human remains was fueled by ego, money, the pioneer’s attitude, the drive to obtain knowledge, the desire to justify certain ideas, and the opportunity to hold the attention of the masses. Unlike collectors in Europe and elsewhere, Americans during this period collected these remains distinctly in the interest of developing, spreading, and calcifying their ideas about race.

In the prologue, he writes, “the gradually deteriorating bones mostly languished on museum shelves, but the ideas surrounding them constantly evolved.” The primary project of his book is the exploration and documentation of that evolution, specifically in America. He traces the history of bone room collections by tracing the stories, motives, ethics, and philosophies of the soldiers, doctors, archeologists, looters, treasure hunters, scientists, racists, phrenologists, private collectors, museums, ethnologists, and anthropologists who eagerly filled them—as well as the thinkers, activists, and lawmakers who eventually challenged them. These motives, ethics, and ideas were and continue to be divisive and questionable. Modern museums and scientists both build upon and reject the legacy of the bone collectors who came before them. While we as a society benefit from the careful study of these human remains, it is important to understand and honor the humanity within them. One way to do that is to know the history of how and why they were collected in the first place. Bone Rooms tells that history, even the ugly parts, with eloquence and dignity.

[John Mcchesney-young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if sometimes repetitious account of the history of the collection of human remains and their study in museums in medical and academic contexts and in exhibitions. I was disappointed that except for the excellent but too-brief epilogue the treatment barely touches on the period after 1950; if you get bogged down in the details, I suggest skipping ahead to that. Another reader noted some typographical errors; my favorite error was lexical: "Museums now consult with the ancestors of those who are housed in collections..." (p. 282).

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about the book. An interesting topic, and mountains of research clearly went into the book. But I felt like a lot of it was repetitive to the point where it really was aggravating.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel Redman's book does an incredible job of bringing together the history of museums, an intellectual history of anthropology, and the history of medicine. Rather than distinguish between medical and anthropology museums, Redman views the two collecting urges as part of the same phenomenon shaped by similar (but not identical) motives. If you've done reading about the history of medicine or the history of anthropology, this book will put those two narratives in conversation nicely. He's very focused on the role that beliefs about race played in shaping the collections at the Smithsonian, other leading American museums, and World's Fairs/Exhibitions. While much of this will not be new to anyone familiar with the history of either medicine or anthropology, it's nice to see an author foreground how ideas about race and the body shaped different disciplines at more or less the same time period. The book draws on extensive research in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Health & Medicine (formerly the Army Medical Museum), the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and many more university and museum archives. The endnotes are wonderful and very informative for folks working on research projects.

I think this would make an excellent book to teach and will, no doubt, use it in my own courses at some point. The chapters aren't too long and can sort of stand on their own. It includes several black-and-white illustrations of museums and important figures which could be of use in the classroom.

If I have one complaint about the book it is organization. While I appreciated the thematic organization of the text, I sometimes found Redman repeating himself within just a few paragraphs as he jumped around in time. This is a minor criticism because, though it was a bit distracting, it didn't take away from the overall value of the book for historians of medicine, race, or museums.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting history, but SO dry - it took me quite a while to finish it, and it also suggested to me that not too many people are enthusiastic about reading these kinds of monographs, as there were quite a few odd typos in the middle of the book. It's a thorough history, though, and if you have any interest in medical museums, a worthwhile read.

[Lauren Hartog · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. Must read for anyone working in museums, or interested in anthropology, history, or art history. The study, collection and display of human remains have deep and tenuous roots in western institutions. These collections - many of them illicitly obtained- continue to shape our ideas about sanctity, race, death, and disease today.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two chapters of this book are stellar -- well-written and extremely useful. The rest of the book is not quite as fluidly or persuasively written. Even so, it provides an excellent introduction to bone rooms, physical anthropology, and anthropology in general in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[Charles Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

History of boaner collections. Used to categorize "races". Subtitle: The Unsurprising Tale of Egregious European and American colonialist grave robbers! Let's desacralize the pits of their ancestors and bog daddies!

In the words of George Washington, inventor of our nation,
"I have wooden teef and a boaner."

Gud buk, easy to dance to. Repetitive beat.

[Brittany Bernardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fascinating topic, but an awfully dry read. Important to take into consideration the history of racism that informs any public display of human remains, and I think this gives a really comprehensive picture of how that history came to be.

[Elexis Trinity · Rating 3 out of 5]

All bones, no meat. A very solid history of an interesting and important topic, albeit mostly unsurprising if you know anything about the history of race and medicine. Had hoped for more of a theoretical intervention, and did find the writing surprisingly dry and repetitive at times.

[Amber Aranui · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually really good. Book review to come.

[Emma Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most linear of books, but it covered a wide amount of information rather clearly.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good primer on the issue of human remains in museum collections, especially bone collections. Redman follows the changing use of the so-called bone rooms from the 19th century to today.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly about the USA

[Susan Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking and wee done on our disturbing colonial and racist history which persists.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got bored very quickly. There seemed to be a lot of repetitious writing, although
obviously well researched. Skimmed through a lot of it.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Redman looks at the history of bone collecting and museums in the United States. Looking at how museums collected bones in the late 19th early 20th-century in order to validate racist ideologies he then traces how scientific racism and eugenics fell out of favour. The most interesting part of the book was his epilogue which discussed efforts to repatriate bones and skeletons.

[Mills College Library]

930.10747 R318 2016

[Selena]

At UMass now, and took a class with Prof Redman last semester. Was very excited to read this, being a fellow Minnesotan as well and finally getting the chance now through a different course. I've come at the study of race socially and legally and never really anthropologically or scientifically, so this is all relatively new to me. To be honest, I'm skimming over some of it, as it's a bit much for me, but it's still fascinating to read about the evolution of racial theory and how bodies were handled. Reminds me of The Dress Lodger and The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America.