Research into the provenance and collectors of the African and South and Central American human remains in the Leipzig skull collection

The Institute of Anatomy at Leipzig University is home to a skull collection that dates back to the end of the 19th century and originally comprised over 1,500 skulls. The most extensive holdings, with around 1,300 skulls from more than 40 countries, date back over 130 years to the skull collection of Prof Dr Emil Ludwig Schmidt. The anthropologist and ethnologist donated them to the University of Leipzig in 1901. Other skulls come from other, smaller collections, such as that of Carl Gustav Carus. In addition to human skulls, the physician and natural scientist Carus also collected plaster models and death masks.

Since the beginning of 2021, the collection holdings have been intensively re-catalogued by student assistants and employees of the institute. There are currently still around 1,200 skulls at the institute. The aim of this research project is to conduct extensive provenance research on the African, Central and South American skulls in the Leipzig Skull Collection and ultimately to repatriate the human remains by identifying contact persons in the home countries.

The first part of the project will focus on researching the provenances of the more than 400 human remains from Africa and identifying contact persons in the respective home countries. The second part will focus on the provenances of the 89 human remains from Central and South American. At the same time, 19th century collector networks connected to the Leipzig collection will be uncovered, starting with the largest donors Emil Schmidt and Carl Gustav Carus. To this end, an intensive analysis of the state and university archives, including preserved correspondence and personal estates, will be undertaken.

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