The Netherlands returned to Indonesia four important exhibits from the Dubois collection of the 19th century

The Netherlands has returned to Indonesia four important exhibits from the collection of Dutch anthropologist Eugene Dubois. This was announced on December 17 on the official website of the government of the country.

"On Wednesday, December 17th, four important items from the Dubois collection were handed over to Indonesia. The Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia, Mark Gerritsen, handed over these items to the Indonesian Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon," the publication says.

The transferred objects include a skull fragment, a femur and a molar belonging to Homo erectus, as well as a shell with possible traces of the work of an ancient hominin.

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The Dubois collection was assembled by scientist Eugene Dubois and his colleagues between 1888 and 1900. On the recommendation of the independent Committee on Colonial Collections, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Guke Moes decided earlier this year to return all the objects to Indonesia. The collection, numbering more than 28,000 items, is currently under the management of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and will be transferred to Indonesia in 2026.

The collection is a valuable material for scientific research on human evolution. The joint projects of Indonesian and Dutch scientists have been going on for decades, and Indonesia emphasized that the National Agency for Research and Innovation (BRIN) will play a key role in the conservation and management of the collection.

On December 15, The Independent newspaper reported the discovery of an unusual Viking age burial site in Norway. A skeleton of a woman with scallop shells near her mouth was found in the grave. Archaeologists have suggested that the remains may belong to the owner of the farm, next to which the burial was discovered.

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