Show Notes
What can a jar of tiny brains tell us about human history and the role of museums in contextualising colonisation?
In this episode, Dr Craig Barker is joined by Dr Jude Philp, anthropologist and Senior Curator of the Macleay Collections. Together they discuss a jar of partially dissected bird and small mammal brains, each individually wrapped in muslin or gauze. These specimens were collected by Russian scientist Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay from the Madang province of Papua New Guinea in 1876-77 and donated to the University of Sydney by his Australian widow Margaret in 1889. From the jar tumble stories of Miklouho-Maclay’s extraordinary life and adventures, his service to science, and remarkably open-minded attitude towards understanding human cultures and despair at European colonial impact upon the lives of others.
The jar, and other items collected by Miklouho-Maclay also provide an opportunity to discuss some of the ethical considerations related to the collection of animal and human remains at the time which sit at the centre of modern debates about the roles of museums in understanding and contextualising colonisation and giving voices to those who lost them during the colonial era.
Miklouho-Maclay’s work was much admired during his lifetime: as legendary Russian author Leon Tolstoy wrote to him, "I do not know what contribution these collections and discoveries will make to the science which you serve but your experience among the natives is epoch-making in the science which I serve, namely the science of how people may live with one another. Write that story and you will make a great contribution to the service of humanity" (quoted in Mikloucho-Maclay: New Guinea Diaries 1871-1883, translated by C.L. Sentinella (1975 Kristen Press).
Guest: Dr Jude Philp, anthropologist and Senior Curator of the Macleay Collections at the Chau Chak Wing Museum.
Host: Dr Craig Barker, Manager of Education and Public Programs, Chau Chak Wing Museum and Director, Paphos Theatre Archaeological Excavations. Follow @DrCraig_B on Twitter and Instagram.
Object details: Jar of partially dissected bird and small mammal brains collected by Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay in 1876-77. Macleay Collections, NHB.8040.
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