The <i>Colección Osteológica Subactual de Santiago</i>: Origin and Current State of a Documented Skeletal Collection from Chile, Latin America

Abstract

This manuscript aims to introduce the Colección Osteológica Subactual de Santiago (COSS), a documented skeletal collection from Santiago, Chile, consisting of 1635 individuals living in low socioeconomic areas of the capital during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The origin and current state of this collection, as well as the process by which it came to be housed at the University of Chile, is described. As of today, after long efforts for further documentation and improvements on the physical conditions of the collection, biological sex and age-at-death has been documented through burial records for 1198 individuals. Largely studied by Chilean researchers and students, the COSS collection has enabled a great amount of research, while also serving as part of a thriving scholarly community from different disciplines. Finally, discussion around representativeness, legal status and ethical concerns are addressed, highlighting the specific issues faced when working and studying the COSS collection.

Keywords

• human osteological collection
• documented skeletal collection
• ethics in anthropology