Xi'an's Og

In its 01 January 2026 issue, Nature covers a current exhibit at the Musée de l’Homme, Paris, on mummies (or momies in French), incl. an Assassin’s Creed interactive device! With a complaint that the exhibit discloses too much about the individuals behind (or before?) the mummies, incl. age, cause of death and sometimes a scan… I find the complaint rather weird in that the individuals have been mummified for hundreds or thousands of years, mostly from cultures that have themselves vanished. (Note: As an atheist, I do not believe in an absolute “sanctity” of corpses and hope my dead body will be put to use for organ donations and medical student practice. The more so because people often have less concern for the living, just like anti-abortion activists rarely care about the children born from mothers denied a right to abortion.) Part of the article message is actually about de-colonising museums, even though transferring mummies back to where they were found does not include time travel to recreate the conditions the (hopefully) dead individuals were processed. (Note: As a universalist, I do not see much rationale in deeming multiple generation descendants (which ones?) or related ethnic groups having more say about handling these remains.) Which also bring to mind a puzzling, caricatural, “Perspective” Nature article in the 07 January 2026 issue arguing that conservation (towards protecting endangered species) is driven by “Western science”, colonialist, racist and marginalizing indigenous communities. Acknowledged as inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and submitted in 2021, I am surprised the article ever got accepted given its focus on ideology rather than (universal) science, e.g., when referring to Michel Foucault’s theories as essential to conservation theory and practice or in opposing trophy hunting bans as providing income for communities. The nadir being the play on RACE (for rights, agency, challenge, and education) as the acronym for the supported model for conservation. (Note: As a frequent traveller, I do realise the tension between conservation of endangered animal populations and the survival needs of local communities. During our last trip to India, we had a hugely educative conversation with a Kerala farmer family, where they complained about the damages from and the dangers of local elephants on crops, as well as monkeys on their cocoa plantation, to the point they were considering giving up that crop.)