Berlin museums ready to return skulls from African ex-colony

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The Berlin museum authority says it is ready to return hundreds of human skulls from the former German colony of East Africa after having researched their origin for several years. During their research at the city’s Museum of Prehistory and Early History, scientists examined 1,135 skulls. Of those, 904 could be assigned to areas in present-day Rwanda; 202 to Tanzania; and 22 to Kenya. In the case of a further seven skulls, a more precise assignment was not possible. Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, an authority that oversees many of Berlin’s museums, including the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, said Wednesday the authority was ready to offer “immediate restitution.”