Extensive discourse surrounds the ethics of human skeletal research and curation, but there has yet to be a similar discussion of the treatment of great ape skeletal remains, despite the clear interest in their ethical treatment when alive. Here we trace the history of apes who were killed and collected for natural history museums during the early 20th century and showcase how the guiding research questions of the colonial era continue to influence scholarship. We discuss best practices for improving industry and academic standards of research on, and the curation of, ape remains. The suggested interventions involve restoring individual identity and narrative to great apes while engaging with contextual reflexivity and decolonial theory. The resulting recommendations include contextualizing the individual, piecing individuals back together, challenging/questioning the captive-wild dichotomy, and collaborative international conversations. Our objective is to encourage a conversation regarding ethical and theoretical considerations in great ape skeletal remains research.

中文翻译：

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个体标本：类人猿骨骼收藏研究和管理的四项干预措施和建议

广泛的讨论围绕着人类骨骼研究和管理的伦理问题，但尚未对类人猿骨骼遗骸的处理进行类似的讨论，尽管人们对生前的伦理处理有明显的兴趣。在这里，我们追溯 20 世纪初被猎杀并为自然历史博物馆收集的类人猿的历史，并展示殖民时代的指导性研究问题如何继续影响学术。我们讨论提高类人猿遗骸研究和管理的行业和学术标准的最佳实践。建议的干预措施包括恢复类人猿的个体身份和叙事，同时结合语境反身性和非殖民理论。由此产生的建议包括将个体置于情境中、将个体重新组合在一起、挑战/质疑圈养与野生的二分法以及国际合作对话。我们的目标是鼓励有关类人猿骨骼遗骸研究中的伦理和理论考虑的对话。