Deutsche Welle: Tanzanians demand return of ancestral skulls

Deutsche Welle: Tanzanians demand return of ancestral skulls. “In a major research project, scientists from Berlin’s Museum of Prehistory and Early History, together with colleagues from Rwanda, investigated the origin of around 1,100 human skulls from Germany’s former colonies in East Africa. Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, told DW that it was ‘a small miracle’ to find living relatives for three skulls through DNA analysis and that it was like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Stamford Advocate: Did a Yale secret society steal a famous Apache leader’s skull? New documents raise questions.

Stamford Advocate: Did a Yale secret society steal a famous Apache leader’s skull? New documents raise questions.. “…Hearst Connecticut Media Group has unearthed two previously unpublished letters that were hiding in plain view in the same Yale archive and lend credence to the claims. Written within months of the alleged theft in 1918, they suggest that Skull and Bones members believed their fellow bonesmen had stolen Geronimo’s skull and brought it back to the Tomb.”

University of Wyoming: UW Museum of Vertebrates Launches 3D Scans Database for Remote Research, Teaching

University of Wyoming: UW Museum of Vertebrates Launches 3D Scans Database for Remote Research, Teaching. “UW’s Museum of Vertebrates, located in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center, and Coe Library Digital Collections recently released 65 3D scans, such as the skulls of eagles and bears. These images are available free to remote learners, researchers and teachers. The specimens can be viewed through augmented reality and rotated 360 degrees or downloaded as still images.”

Boing Boing: Animal photo art search engine

Boing Boing pointed me toward this crazy search engine for animal heads. From the brief writeup: “x6udpngx’s x6ud is a single-purpose search engine that offers high-quality animal photographs for use by artists seeking reference material.” This is a wow. First you pick a species (not all species are available.) Then you pick a skull type underneath and click and drag the skull to orient it in the position you want to find. For example, I pick hawk species, and the chicken skull. I click and drag the skull so I’m looking at it in profile. I click search and the search results I will get will be for hawk heads in profile. It doesn’t work as well for weird positions like the top or bottom of the skull, but still. Go play with it.