Grappling with the Legacies of Anthro-Cast

This article critically examines the ethical and historical complexities surrounding the use of replicas of human and mammalian remains in anthropological work. Using the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Anthro-Cast program—which created and distributed fossil casts from 1962 to 1976—as a case study, we investigate evolving attitudes toward the production, marketing, and distribution of copies of the bones of humans, fossil hominids, and nonhuman primates, highlighting significant ethical dilemmas and challenges faced by contemporary anthropology. To explore the ramifications of this history, we developed a three-day seminar for 12 researchers, curators, administrators, and scholars across anthropology to reevaluate practices and policies connected with the use of casts, especially those taken from originals obtained under colonial and extractive circumstances. In the dialogue that resulted, our group broadly proposed a shift toward more humane approaches, emphasizing the need for transparency, collaboration with descendant communities, and restorative practices that privilege researchers and institutions excluded from the scholarly networks and hierarchies that were built on materials taken from their homelands. This collaboration and the resulting collection of papers here offer a timely reflection on the responsibilities of anthropologists in handling fossil and human replicas and the importance of aligning anthropological practices with emerging ethical norms.