Bones of Returned Memory - The Repatriation of Neolithic Skeletons from Bordeaux to Rabat

Between 2019 - 2026, Open Restitution Africa (ORA) set out to map and document the processes that underpin the restitution of African heritage material from the perspective of Africans actively engaged in restitution work. Data gathered from 2023 - 2025 yielded a first-of-its-kind qualitative dataset comprising 25 in-depth restitution case studies from 13 African countries. Collated through a bespoke research methodology that prioritised oral history and the lived experiences of African communities, ORA worked with case study researchers from various countries to document how restitution happens and who or what is involved in moving restitution forward at a grassroots level. The result is a data set that encompasses 200 years of African restitution efforts structured into a series of ‘events’ - consolidated moments, occurrences, and/or activities related to the restitution of a belonging or human ancestor within each case study. It is designed to offer a comparative and synthesized analysis of the processes that underpin the restitution of African material cultural heritage. It also serves as evidence-based that can influence future decision-making around restitution structures, policies, and governance frameworks. The case studies are drawn from Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This dataset is focused on the Repatriation of Rouazi-Skhirat Neolithic Ancestors. In 1984 ancestral remains, linked to Indigenous Amazigh people, were excavated from the Rouazi-Skhirat necropolis (an ancient cemetery or burial complex) in Morocco. This case study outlines the set of decisions and dynamics that led to their removal from Morocco to France later that year, despite Morocco's legally enshrined ownership of this material heritage. Their subsequent repatriation 30+ years later points to restitution as both a journey of physical return and a means through which to renegotiate and rebalance inequitable relations between African and former colonial powers.