Paul Stewens
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p-stewens.bsky.social
Paul Stewens
@p-stewens.bsky.social
Law & Palaeontology researcher | PhD candidate (Maastricht University) | Master in Int‘l Law (Geneva Graduate Institute) | social dancer
There will be much more to say, esp. against the background of my research on the legal classification of hominin fossils. Watch this space for a blog post, and in the meantime, consider joining my upcoming lectures about human remains! /end

paul-stewens.com/news/
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Java Man will now return as a fossil/cultural object, without any differential treatment on account of being a human ancestor. The fossils are not treated as human remains. This might be interesting for Zambia's struggle to return the Broken Hill skull from UK which they do claim as an ancestor. /6
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
The NL gov't also recognises that the fossils "held spiritual and economic value for local people". This puts the Dubois collection in the context of the debate surrounding the debate on colonial loot. Cultural & natural artifacts are two sides of the same coin. /5

www.government.nl/latest/news/...
The Netherlands will return Dubois collection to Indonesia
The Netherlands plans to transfer more than 28,000 fossils from the Dubois collection to Indonesia, following a request by Indonesian authorities. Today, Gouke Moes, Minister of Education, Culture and...
www.government.nl
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I'm not aware of any other case where such a significant amount of fossils has been returned. This is an unprecedented, groundbreaking decision - and not only by the standards of natural history; I am not aware of any large-scale restitutions such as this one for art/antiquities, either. /4
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
The heart of the collection are the skullcap, femur and molar of a Homo erectus ("Java Man") which local workers, directed by Dutch anatomist Eugène #Dubois discovered in the 1890s. I've seen the exhibit @naturalis.bsky.social and it brilliantly integrates the fossils with a live reconstruction. /3
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
The return is the result of an official request which the Indonesian government submitted in 2022. An independent commission has now recommended the return of the collection in light of the circumstances of their #colonial acquisition. /2

restitutionmatters.org/news-item/br...
BREAKING: Unconditional restitution by the Netherlands of over 28,000 fossils to Indonesia | RM*[restitution matters]
[ most links are in Dutch, some in English ] Today, Dutch Minister Moes (Education, Culture and Science) presented a letter to Indonesian Minister Fadli Zon (Culture) announcing this decision. The so-...
restitutionmatters.org
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Update: The post is online!

bsky.app/profile/p-st...
Many people have sent me the CNN piece on trade in 🇲🇦 fossils. It does many things well; picking interviewees is not one of them. No legal experts, only palaeontologists repeating legal factoids. Please read my comment.

🌐CNN: edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
✒️Blog: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/mo...
Paul P. Stewens | The 1970 UNESCO Convention applies to individual fossils
There is no legal grey area, and they don't have to belong to a collection.
paul-stewens.com
August 20, 2025 at 8:02 AM
In terms of substance, I take particular issue with the "legal gray area" argument and the allegedly imprecise wording of the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Expect a blog post. [fin]
August 19, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Not sure honestly, I don't think these authorities are super active on any social media platform...
April 7, 2025 at 10:04 AM
True, but a return based on a museum-level agreement would be seen as illegal. As part of a public collection, the fossil (ironically) is 🇩🇪 national cultural property that can only be exported with a license (Sections 6+23 Cultural Property Protection Act).
www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_kgs...
www.gesetze-im-internet.de
April 7, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Being the author of said legal analysis, I can confirm that in my opinion, the @smnstuttgart.bsky.social did not acquire good title to the fossil and that it remains the property of Brazil.
April 7, 2025 at 7:18 AM
@alinemghilardi.bsky.social: Maybe it could make sense to clarify this for the campaign? I think the pressure should be put on those institutions that actually call the shots, and these are the state government (@regierungbw.bsky.social) and, even more so, the science ministry (@mwk-bw.bsky.social).
April 7, 2025 at 7:15 AM