Maria Ordoñez, the leader of the Quito-based research project, says they hope to study the tsantsas using technology such as CT scanning and DNA analysis. The museum recently signed an agreement with Quito’s University of San Francisco to collaborate with Shuar representatives to discuss the tsantsas. Van Broekhoven believes it is vital to involve representatives of the Shuar community, who number around 40,000. Run by the University of Oxford, the museum is placing great emphasis on fostering cross-cultural understanding. The museum is also applying to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding to undertake provenance research on the tsantsas and to invite Ecuadorian researchers and Shuar representatives to Oxford. The review of the tsantsas is being undertaken as part of a wider project, entitled Labelling Matters, which will reconsider the Pitt Rivers Museum’s historic labels, some dating back to its foundation in 1884. The Shuar communities do not want to be represented in these stereotypical ways.” The practice of headhunting, instead of being better understood, is misunderstood entirely. Van Broekhoven points out that the Treatment of Dead Enemies display is both “cherished and feared” by visitors: “Many think of these objects as bizarre, gruesome, barbaric, a ‘freak’ show. But it has exceptionally granted The Art Newspaper permission to publish the image. Until now the museum has not allowed its official photograph of the display case to be reproduced by the media, because of concerns over sensationalism. But all options are on the table.”ĭating back to the 1940s, the Treatment of Dead Enemies display at the Pitt Rivers contains examples of human remains and associated objects from around the world, including four tsantsas with long hair. So far, we have no indication that this is the case. She has an open attitude on what should be done, with repatriation to Ecuador a possibility: “If we conclude it is inappropriate to show the tsantsas, they might be taken off display. Laura Van Broekhoven, who took over as director of the Pitt Rivers Museum two years ago, is rethinking the museum’s displays, including the tsantsas, and is consulting with representatives of the Shuar community. Michael O’Hanlon, the previous director, says the most commonly asked question by visitors is: “Which case has the shrunken heads?” The tsantsas are the museum’s most famed objects. These human heads with skin and hair, known as tsantsas, were made by the Shuar and Achuar people of Ecuador and Peru-up until the 1960s. The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford is reconsidering its display of shrunken heads, which are currently shown in a case labelled Treatment of Dead Enemies.
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