Pitt Rivers

This stop is about the Pitt Rivers Museum which was founded in 1884. It contains more than 500,000 objects, photographs and manuscripts from all over the world, and from all periods of human existence.

“The Museum has consciously cultivated its characteristic layout: artefacts are arranged by type into a ‘democracy of things’, rather than by time or region. This reveals fascinating distinctions and parallels across cultures, and encourages questions about the ways in which humanity tackles problems, and creates, understands and embraces life across the world.”

In September 2020, Pitt Rivers Museum removed the Shuar Tsantsa - shrunken heads - from display after ethical review. The shrunken heads are considered sacred by the Shuar and Achuar peoples of Ecuador, who say their ancestors sold them to Western collectors without fully realising the implications. In addition to the Tsantsas, the museum has also removed South Asian Naga trophy heads and the Egyptian mummy of a child from open display. It says it will actively reach out to descendant communities over the next few years to find out the most appropriate way to care for the 2,800 human remains it holds – including repatriation if requested.

As part of the ethical review, the museum has also made changes to displays that feature derogatory language in their historic case labels or that play up ‘primitive’ or ‘savage’ colonial stereotypes of indigenous cultures. Displays now explain how some of the museum's historic labels "obscure a deeper understanding of other cultures" and can reinforce racism and stereotypes. New labels and corresponding films and podcasts have been introduced to offer "more engaging, moving and multi-faceted stories," told through the voices of artists and indigenous communities. The 19th-century museum, known for its complex colonial history, is currently undertaking one of the most comprehensive decolonisation programmes in the UK sector to date, with the intention of reinventing itself as an “anti-racist institution”.