Two Skulls Taken From Harvard Are Returned to Brazil

Two human skulls have been repatriated to Brazil from Harvard University, where, The Guardian reported, the remains had been used in racist eugenics studies. The skulls were recovered from Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and they had been outside Brazil since the 19th century.

One skull was taken about 190 years ago from Salvador, the capital of Bahia state. The other was taken about 160 years ago from Rio de Janeiro. Both are believed to have belonged to Africans or Afro-Brazilians. One is believed to be that of a man who took part in Brazil's greatest slave revolt.

The existence of the skulls was revealed in 2022. Brazilian researchers sought their return, but the process was slow. It moved forward after the Brazilian government became involved in late 2024, and the recovery followed a four-year campaign to bring the remains back from Harvard.

Carolina Dias dos Reis, a Brazilian government official, travelled to Boston to sign the agreement with Harvard. Each skull was carried back in a padded box inside a reinforced suitcase, transported on flights by Brazilian diplomats.

Researchers from local Brazilian universities will try to learn more about who the two individuals were. The skulls will not be displayed in museums, and their images will not be released.

The Brazilian government has pledged that the skulls will be buried with funeral rites once identification is complete.