Region: Hawaii
Associated Cultures: Native Hawaiian
1993
In 1993, the NMNH repatriated all funerary objects from Hawaii. In response to the request of the Hui Malama I Na Kupuna 'O Hawai'i Nei for information on Hawaiian funerary objects and related materials, the records of the NMNH Department of Anthropology archaeology and ethnographic collections were reviewed. More than 70 accessions include Hawaiian ethnographic items, containing 624 objects. The archaeology collection has three accessions of Hawaiian materials, with 12 objects. A total of 5 objects were found to be funerary objects, having been placed with burials as part of a funeral rite. When these objects were examined a partial human skeleton was found and was also repatriated.