Read the article above. Does it shock you as much as it shocked me? Is this legal? Where do they come from? Can anyone purchase them? Summarize the article in a scholarly paragraph with at least five sentences. Also I would like you to comment on at least one of your peer's responses. If this isn't creepy Halloween stuff, then I don't know what is.
It is pretty shocking that trading human skulls exists, and that it is legal in many states. These skulls tend to come from academic collections, for doctors and other medical fields to observe. Some of the skulls also come from archaeological and forensic studies. Very few skulls are grave robbed or are from murder victims, as they tend to look different, and the buyers won’t purchase them. Anybody can purchase bones, there are no restrictions for buying them, except in the states where the skulls are illegal to purchase (only time remains are illegal to sell for all states is the bones of native Americans). The reason the sale of skulls become popular is because many medical schools were shutting down or down sizing, so they had to sell items. Due to the sales, the skulls got into the hands of many, and many of them didn’t get them for medical purposes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the sale of human heads being shocking. Why would anyone want human remains for reasons other than medical purposes. There should be more laws restricting the purchase and sale of human bones.
DeleteSelling the skulls of human remains has actually been around for much longer than I ever expected. For the last 5 years, businesses have been taking the remains of human skulls and using them for their own interest, such as making art or as decoration, as haunted as that may seem. For Zane Wylie, it all started back in 2011, when he bought his very first human skull off of eBay for $750. Since then, he has collected these skulls and sells them on his own website. However, as much as this scheme was working well for him, the ability to fetch these skulls straight off of trading websites became a major issue. An analysis published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences stated that 454 skulls were sold on eBay over the course of seven months, with the start price being $650. Four days later, eBay banned trade in human remains except for hair. The reason was that it was against the law to sell human remains on trading websites. However, that is not the case. As crazy as it seems, selling human remains still is a legal thing. Skulls Unlimited, the website that Zane runs, is still selling skulls to people of the medical world. When they receive a head, they have to remove all of the fleshy parts of the skull by having dermestid beetles feed on these remains. Skulls Unlimited only allows human skulls to be sold to medical doctors, but anyone can get an antique skull if they ever want one. Businesses have to remain very secret on not making so much known of their businesses. Damien Huffer, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, would like to stop trade of human parts. He describes that even though ownership is legal, there is still a wave of issues on it. Damien Huffer and his colleagues monitor website tags by social media networking sites. He suggested that others should report when people are trying to sell remains. This causes businesses to be very secret with their transactions. One article write up could mean the end of a hard working business. So, as shocking as this seems, this is still a legal cause. As long as companies aren’t using these skulls for the wrong reasons, there should not be a law passed on it. It should still remain the same way.
ReplyDeleteHuman skulls are being sold and it’s not even the first time it’s been heard of. Recently Ebay has banned the sale of human body parts, but they’re still being sold on other sites. People are using these skulls for medical purposes, carving, etc. and I don’t think it’s right. In the 1700s, it was common for Medical Schools to provide skulls for students. They didn’t have much ways to get skulls so they resorted to digging up bodies, eventually that turned into India’s job after the law was passed that put an end to unchecked grave digging. Skulls are still be sold after many laws have been passed about the whole situation, people are just being more careful and secret about it. I think the selling of human parts is disturbing and disgusting especially when people use them for their own uses like carving. People do not realize that these parts were once living humans and most likely would not be okay with what they are doing with them.
ReplyDeleteMia I totally agree with you. I can't believe there are still websites where you can buy actual human skulls. It's disgusting that people are allowed to buy and sell these bones and skulls so casually. I can understand if it's for medical purposes but if it's just for carving and decorations it should not be allowed.
DeleteI agree 100% that this is disturbing. I would never buy human body parts.
DeleteI agree, the thought of having my skull carved into to be on display as art makes me want to get the deepest grave possible. For the people who donate organs, that's their choice, but digging up graves is so wrong.
DeleteI also think that it is really wrong what they are doing with peopls remains. Making carvings? To me this seems really disrespectful. I do see how it could be beneficial for medical uses though. Allowing docters to use dead bodies for practicing surgery could save lives. I just think that the sale human remains should be allowed with certain boundries.
DeleteOriginally this shocked me but not so much anymore. I think that it is perfectly logical that human remains are sold, and honestly I think it's pretty awesome. I can totally see why some people find this utterly disturbing but I suggest they look at it from another perspective. The pictures of these carved skulls are absolutely gorgeous. They are a form of art! I think that the selling of human remains should be legal because they could be used for medical testing (or whatever doctors use with bones), they could be used for learning in science and health classes, or art like I mentioned before. I also think that anybody should be allowed to purchase them. Based on the article it seems that the professionals know what the right kind of corpse they use looks like. I think it would be very cool to have my skull used to create art when I am no longer alive. “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” -Aristotle
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that this skulls are works of art and it's pretty amazing what people can do. It just bothers me that most of these people never gave permission for people to just carve into their skulls and the people that do this art to think about the person that this skull once belonged to. Yes human remains should be available after they've died to professionals, but that is what being a donor is for. I don't think just anyone should be able to sell or buy these remains without a license.
DeleteThat is very interesting looking at it "from a different perspective". I do agree on the fact that they do look interesting, but it boils down to what is morally acceptable or not. Under the circumstance that a person (when dead) wants their bones carved is okay, but taking bones that were used for medical purpose (research in general) and defacing them is completely wrong, that's not why the person gave up their bones, and to do deface them is rather cynical for such a minute cause such as "art".
DeleteI like your perspective on the art aspect of it. Although kinda creepy, I totally agree that it is a really different and a cool form of art. And becoming a creepy carved skull in the end would be pretty awesome.
DeleteI love your perspective of this article. You are right! It would be cool to have your skull carved after you died but maybe just a little creepy! I also agree that the selling of skulls should not be banned up to a certain point. They would be very useful for learning purposes.
DeleteThe fact that an actual skull has been sold via Facebook and other private sites kind of concerns me. I understand if the site is made and approved by authorities, but FACEBOOK! I mean come on, who knows what these people are doing to first get the skull, second sell it, and third, what they do when they get it. There are some reasonable explanations listed, such as for medical reasons, like for practice of medicine and experiments. I feel as though official websites, like for example Skulls Unlimited, should be created and every exchange should be approved by experts or someone like that. Another requirement there should be is that there should be certain laws because as of right now, it’s legal in most states. For example, “Louisiana banned trade and even ownership of almost all human remains shortly after the study appeared. Bone traders started to get nervous.” Now that laws in some states are being passed, it worries traders because the $650+ they get from the sell could be gone in a couple months or a year if the laws continue to be passed. “I suspect a law will be passed, and I will no longer be able to sell human bones to artists, cadaver dog trainers, or people who just want to own a femur or a skull,” a store owner said in the newsletter. There are some benefits of this, however, the downsides outweigh this “Shull System” that’s going on. I can’t believe this is even happening.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that some official skull websites should be looked at and approved to make sure that the people who are selling these skulls is for valid reasons.
DeleteI was shocked that so many human bones and skulls were being sold. Some of the skulls were even going for thousands of dollars! India was big supplier of human remains and sold them to the western hemisphere. India eventually made it illegal because they were scared that their citizens were murdering people and selling their remains. At first anyone could buy the remains, but with the recent laws only verified doctors and specialists can get them. It's creepy to think that someone's Halloween decoration may be a real human skull.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked at the fact that bones were being sold as well,8,000 dollars seems a bit extreme to me. And India should have made it illegal, even if they had no proof of murders it was a huge possibility.
DeleteI was shocked, too! Never really even thought about human remains being sold -- let alone for art purposes! Your last sentence really got me thinking...I'm totally going to be giving skull Halloween decorations a double-take! Real or not?! Hmmmm....
DeleteThe article was about how there are actually human skulls for sale across the United States and even other countries. The skulls were for sale on Ebay and other platforms and recently Ebay prohibited the sale of human remains on its website. This was very alarming for the sellers and collectors of human skulls because they believe that it may lead to there being a law against it. The laws that are in place now are confusing for people to understand and hard for people to keep up with. The skulls surprisingly are not illegal in most states at this current time, but they are illegal in other countries after the government feared that people were being killed for their remains. The only people who should be allowed access to buying human remains are people practicing medical professions, but currently anyone can buy them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Bernadette, the United State should indeed pass a federal law making the selling and ownership of these skulls and other body parts illegal in all states. With the exception of medical professions, who need access for educational and other reasons.
DeleteI agree that the laws are confusing but what do they need skulls for, it's not like they can do a surgery to transplant them.
DeleteI agree and I;m very surprised that this is not illegal in a lot of states.
DeleteThis topic is very shocking because who would want to buy and/or sell human skulls? This is just messed up and I don't understand it. Although this has yet to become illegal eBay has banned the selling of human skulls on their site. Most human skulls in the U.S. market come from antique medical skeletons. Sometimes schools will get a huge supply of them from Indiana. India and Chine are also places that you could get human skulls from but China banned the trade of them in 2003. Anyone can purchase human skulls but in my opinion I wouldn't want to pay $600 for a human skull. What is it going to take to make the trade and selling of human skulls to be illegal?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you by saying who would actually want to by one and who would be willing to pay $600 for one. The article did answer your final question though because the reason eBay took the skulls down is because the selling and buying of humans or human body parts is already illegal.
DeleteI agree I don't understand why anyone would want a Human skull for any other reason besides medical purposes,I found this article shocking as well.
DeleteThe fact that just anyone can go and buy human skulls and bones is a little terrifying. First of all, this means there are skeletons and people's remains that are mutalated and missing parts. And secondly, anyone can buy these missing parts. Just thinking about family memebers of mine's skulls being carved and decorated for people to buy seems almost wrong. I wouldn't want people buying my skull once I die. I can't believe that it's legal and I think there should be some sort of law that protects people's remains unless there's a signature from the person before they die or one of their family members. I'm glad that eBay is no longer selling human bones and skulls.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Human Skulls Are Being Sold Online, But Is It Legal? by Kristin Hugo, surprisingly human bones being sold online didn’t come as a shock to me. There are individuals who sell a variety of human and animal parts on the black markets, so learning that there are individuals who are selling human skulls seemed to make sense. As of right now, bone collectors don’t need credentials to buy or sell those that are on the market and in the United States there are federal laws prohibiting trade and ownership of human remains with one exception, remains of Native Americans. These skulls are discovered by archaeologists, stolen, or even dug up. Even though currently there isn’t a law in existence and some people are using skulls for art, this practice would be illegal. There are companies will only sell donor skulls to doctors, nurses, dentists, anthropologists, and people with scientific or medical reason. Though there are people who sell them on websites such as e-bay and Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThis article disgusted me more than shocked me. The fact that this is legal did surprise me though. I would’ve figured that this wouldn’t be legal, or at least need consent to do so from a higher authority, or something! Since these skulls are on public sites such as Ebay and Yahoo, then it seems that anyone can purchase these. While most of the skulls come from antique medical skeletons, others come from people who used to be alive and donated their head instead of burying it. This isn’t the worst part of it either; people are selling more than just the head. They’re selling ribs, teeth, half a brain, a skeletal hand, hearts, and even fetuses! I think that this is wrong, unless it’s for a medical reason; but, selling these parts for things like carving is gross and inhumane.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and I also think that there is no reason for anyone to be able to buy and collect human skulls. It should be limited to medical use before it becomes too out of hand and people start obtaining these the wrong way.
DeleteI found it crazy that people are buying human skulls. Personally I find it unethical that humans are selling other humans body parts. According to the chart most of the skulls would be going to medical purposes. What would you need a human skull for, I understand if you need a kidney but why a skull. It is odd for someone to carve into human bone then sell it, I looked on the guys website and the prices for the fake replica skulls were extreme.But I do think the skulls would be a good decoration.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's very strange to buy a human skull, especially if you can't use it for medical purposes like getting a kidney from a donor. Let's be real here, who decided "Hey I'm going to buy this real human skull and carve it!". C'mon that's just creepy. It would be a huge problem in the future if people decided this was better than cremation and wanted their skulls put on a shelf. Imagine having people over! "Oh what's this Tammy?" (picks up skull) "Oh that's my grandma."....C'mon let's be realistic and humane here.
DeleteThis article was kind of disturbing in the fact that somebody would want to buy a human body part. I get the fact that some painters use them in art and other professionals use them medicinally or for research. I just don't see how someone would want to buy one for fun to just have. I thought it was surprising how quickly eBay caught onto the scandle and shut it down immediately. A quote of theirs was "the buying and selling of humans and human body parts is illegal". I never knew that this was true except for actually humans being sold because that would be considered slavery. I though it was also interesting how people were beginning to see a business opportunity through this and that's a factor that played into the start of it. Overall, it was a very different type of article you don't read everyday but it was very interesting to learn some of the things you would never think goes on all around you.
ReplyDeleteThis article was about something pretty crazy, selling human skulls and bones! Recently skulls have been being sold on E-bay until it was banned. A lot of thought was going into the legal issues of selling bones on E-bay and even Facebook. India was a huge supplier until recently because people didn’t know if there were murders going on to sell bones. The world wide issue was banned until recently and now only certified scientists and doctors can purchase them. Not only were the skulls being sold on facebook and E-bay, people were carving bigger designs to fetch a larger price!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Mike selling human bones is crazy it is to my great relief that eBay banned the selling of bones on their website. Along with the way they were carved it also grossed me out the way that the got the skulls ready for sale that must be a nasty job a bunch of heads lying around.
DeleteI find it very interesting that people would sell, and buy human skulls. I mean, I understand maybe scientists doing this but I don't understand why a normal person would buy an item of this sort. I also find it very weird that a human would want to have a human body part such as a skull or organ. It is just creepy. But the engravings and tattoos look super cool on the skull though. I would want my skull or body to be decorated when I die. But I really don't think that it is necessary to be able to buy and sell this type of stuff on the internet and deep web. Eyelashes, skulls and bones, half a brain, and other body parts is not appropriate to be sold on the internet in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSame how could you enjoy making a living off human skulls. I just think its way too out of the ordinary. although I do think the art on them is amazing.
DeleteI knew that human bones were for sale before reading this article but what I did not realize is that they were being sold on such a large scale. When me and my family go to reptile conventions there is always one person selling human bones I did not know that he was just one out of a group of people that are know selling bones. This article shocked me with the amount of bone being sold that is crazy. Though it sounds very improbable this is legal though I believe that there will be restrictions put on this soon. You have to think about the kinds of people that buy these bones they most likely have some minor issues if their new hobby is collecting human remains. Some people may think that only doctors can buy these bones this is not true however anyone can buy them if they choose. Overall this article talked about who is buying the human bones, the laws about the bones and how the bones may help people. The article also talked about the problem ebay had with people selling bones on their website and gave a little history on the bone industry.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you when you said there could be restrictions to selling the skulls soon. With how large scale this has become I was surprised to hear that this was even legal in the first place.
DeleteTo me, this article disgusted and shocked me. This article talked about how many people were selling human skulls on eBay, it was when banned four days after a study that showed how much and how often people were selling human remains. A while back, India was a huge supplier for selling human remains, it was then banned for fear that people were murdering each other to sell bones. After this, China became the biggest supplier, but that was short lived as well. However, I wasn't surprised that this was illegal, especially since grave robbing is illegal. I never knew how many people were interested in human skulls.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, the fact that odd items are up for sale honestly doesn’t surprise me. The fact of skulls being held for auction had a low wow factor, but what managed to shock me was that other non bone related body parts were being sold. The image on the home screen of the blog post showing other body parts that were being sold on Facebook really disturbed me. How do people even get a hold of these things? What I actually appreciated about the skulls was that people were turning them into art, and that fact really changed my perspective of the issue. Seeing the pictures of them lead me further to think that of all body parts, skulls certainly weren’t the worst or most concerning body part to be sold. Although what I am concerned about is that the owners never necessarily condoned what these artists are doing, but yes, these skulls are art and I understand how many people would be interested in investing in one.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, I always wonder does the recipiants of these organs knows if they have been maintained since the removal from the giver? Also, how are these organs inplanted safely without proper medical techniques? But overall I did feel as though this was the most disturbing part of the article as well, especially since in India people were being killed for their body parts.
DeletePeople really started to get into the idea of selling human skulls on the internet for reasons other than medical purposes when an archaeologist in 2011 photographed,described,and listed a human skull on eBay.Many people began to sell skulls or human remains because of the high prices people were willing to pay for them.On July 4,an article published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences described how,over the course of just seven months,sellers listed 454 human skulls on eBay.After four days of the study being published, eBay banned trade in human remains.The selling of human remains was supposed to be for medical purposes only but soon people began to carve designs into them to sell for prices starting at an average of $650.Even after laws being passed and the selling of human remains being banned from eBay people still found sneaky,and secretive ways to sell them.I was very shocked during and after reading this.I found it disgusting and disturbing that people would even use human skulls for any other reasons besides medical purposes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I think it's very creepy and disturbing that people would buy skulls and use them for non-medical reasons. I'm glad eBay banned the sale of them, however; people are still able to buy them for their own use, and I think we need to find a way to stop that.
DeleteThis article talks about how bones and other human remains are being sold freely. Human bones can go for up to 800 dollars. Although these skulls and bones are mostly used for medical/historical uses, who knows what people could be doing with these remains. It also raises the concern of what people would do to get there hands on them. With how much value human remains have, it provides a chance for people to make large sums of money within a short period of time. Things like grave robbing and murder could occur. There is also the ethical/religous side of this. Many religions would probably see this as disrespectful toward those who have died. Making human remains into carvings and other things does not seem right to most people.The article also explains that although the sale of human remains may seem, creepy, weird, or disgusting, there is also an upside as long as these sales are monitored. For example, a doctor might teach his students how to do a type of surgery on a dead person. In a way human remains can help save lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree this could be a good thing as well as a bad thing. Its all about how this is used and what its used for.
DeleteI was shocked to see that people are selling and buying human skulls, but have been also been selling human body parts as well. Selling skulls is also legal in some states. The skulls come from donors who are willing to give away their skulls for doctors to observe or for schools. People can purchase these skulls on ebay, Facebook, The Bone Room and many other sites. Although selling skulls may be legal in some states, I think there should be a process before people decide they want to sell these skulls. I think the website they’re selling the skulls on should be looked at and made sure that they’re not killing people for them and that their getting the skulls from a donor or something. In India people were killing other people just so they can sell skulls. Honestly I really find this concerning and that this isn’t how they should be getting the skulls. They should have a valid reason to why they want to sell these skulls and get it approved by someone.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when I found out that selling skulls online was a thing, and that it’s legal in many states and countries. Recently, eBay has banned the sale of human body parts, except for hair. However; human body parts are still being sold on other websites, including Facebook. This is pretty scary, and very disturbing, in my opinion. A majority of these skulls are being used for medical practices. There are companies dedicated to this practice, including Skulls Unlimited, which is the only company in the U.S. that is legally cleaning, and selling skulls. I don’t see what’s wrong with selling skulls for medical purposes, but I don’t think random people should be able to buy skulls off the Internet. There should be some boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI agree, if skulls are sold, it should strictly be for medical purposes, and done legally and not online.
DeleteI agree with you especially in the sense that other companies or websites besides EBay should step up and make the selling or buying of human parts illegal. Also, if other countries have banned the buying and selling of parts, the US should, too.
DeleteI agree especially because people could be getting these skulls by grave robbing.
DeleteLet's think about this for a second. People sold human remains legally to anyone for a very expensive price. And they were popular everywhere? This is messed up, who decides to go onto E-bay thinking "Oh yeah I want a skull!". This whole thing bothers me, if I get buried I don't want people to take my head and sell it on E-bay. It's just disrespectful. Give the dead some respect, after all they are dead. Honestly if this somehow comes back and becomes a trend to keep peoples skulls it's not going to go down well. Yes, the skulls are cool pieces of art, but wouldn't it be cheaper for the artist to make a fake skull to carve instead of a true honest to god one? Thank god E-bay banned them. I can see why India was so scared, I mean I would've been scared that people were killing each other for their skulls, too. You do have to think about where they did come from, they are your ancestors. It's like digging up your dead dog in the backyard and saying "I want to make a sculpture out of Spot!"....It's just unethical. Leave the skulls where they belong.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree in terms of where the skulls are coming from and how horrible the truth is when you realy think about it. Years from now, you wouldn't want someone to have your mothers skull on their mantel, admiring it while you had suffered from loss your whole life because someone killed your mother just to put it on Ebay and earn a little money. It may seem really cool when it's not someone you care about behind that skull, but in reality its not.
DeleteI totally agree with you. Why would anyone really want to buy a skull in the first place? I guess it would be a good conversation piece when you have friends over.
DeleteI totally agree with you, it is disrespectful since they are dead after all. I also liked how you mention that artists should make fake skulls and use that instead, since its cheaper and not disrespectful to the dead.
DeleteI agree with you but I also disagree, because real art lovers like authenticity, and to have an actual human skull with so much history behind it is kind of a cool thing to have obtained.
DeleteI agree with a lot of what you're saying but I do think that if they are getting the skulls in a legal way it should be fine.
DeleteHuman skulls are a thing that has been passed around for hundreds of years. I feel that if the trade of theses skulls is done in a legal way, then it isn’t crazy. As previously mentioned, if the skulls come from a legal source, say a donor, the sale of skulls shouldn’t be illegal. The article said that many countries, including India and China have banned the export of skulls. This is because the worry people are being murdered for them. All in all, if they are legal and are used for something like carving or medical teachings or studies, their sale should not be banned.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but still I think that this business is a little shady. Even that guy Zane Wylie's name was a pseudonym.
DeleteI agree with Dalton, if its for medical purposes it should be legal but it does need to be under control because people are being killed for there skulls.
DeleteIn the article, I found out you can make a profit of at least $600 off of selling a human skull on eBay. There’s even trades involving human skulls on Yahoo and Facebook! There are skulls being sold throughout America. It’s kind of creepy in my opinion, unless the bones are being used for medical purposes to perform tests and things like that. When skeletons were first being used within the medical field, India was able to create a thriving bone industry since there are people there who deal with the disposal of the bones. Then it got banned because they were concerned of murders happening to retrieve bones. Not even just skulls, but other body parts are also being sold throughout the web.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I was thinking the most bizarre things I would have never imagined thinking of before! Human skulls for sale? This whole situation is very interesting, and it’s even still legal in some states! Human bones are banned to be sold on eBay, but you can get these human skulls from many other places too. If you are in the medical world you can receive a skull from a US donors. This place called Skulls Unlimited is the only place legally receiving heads and cleaning them. Some body parts and bones can be purchased from Facebook, private websites, and places in Canada. People are constantly monitoring the web to try to report people who buy the skulls. I do not think human skull would be a good decoration to have around your house...let’s stick to Halloween purposes only!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that people have these human skulls is shocking. I wouldn’t want one, even if I could sell it for a lot of money. It is legal to possess and sell these skulls which I can’t believe. Some people claim to have obtained them from estate sales and didn’t know what they were worth. Many people who are donors and willingly donate their skull wouldn’t want someone to be keeping it or potentially selling it on a website as a collectors item. What also shocks me is that anybody can purchase these which is ridiculous. Why carve and draw things on a real human skull to sell to collectors? I believe this should be only for medical purposes, not for anybody to decide to purchase off of ebay or any other auctioning website. Small bones is understandable for buyers who may be interested but to be auctioning real human skulls is a bit much. I think that this should continue to be investigated for how and why it is becoming so popular.
ReplyDeleteThis article really disturbing and shocked me tremendously because just the thought of holding someone's skull is just sickening to me, because I guarantee that 90% of the people that buy the skulls don’t know how that person died, (good or bad). At the time, the popular online auction site (ebay) allowed anyone to trade in human bones as long as the remains were clean, articulated, and for medical purposes. Most of the time they didn’t go to doctors and were neither articulated. Anyone can purchase the skulls and anyone can sell the bones because on ebay no one had to prove provenance or medical affiliation. The website they’re providing the skulls on should be watched by the government or people of high power, to make sure that no one is killing other people for their skulls. In India people were killing others just so they can sell skulls and make good money from it. I not only find this shocking but also concerning that people are killing others just over skulls.
ReplyDeleteIn the last couple of years, the sales of human skulls have risen. Zane Wylie is a man who carves into human skulls who later sell for a large amount of money, considering it's a human skull. He now makes a living of this trade. Im very shocked after reading this article. I cannot process why someone would want to have human skulls as inventory and make a living off them. When I read about the man who was caught with arouund of 1,500 skulls for sale, a very disturbing image came to mind.. One thing about this that surprised me is the staggering amount of money people are paying for what's just a skull. So, im guessing if i'm ever in need of money I could pawn my skull?
ReplyDeleteWow, I would have never thought so many skulls would be purchased, just looking at the picture provided in the article about 85% is used for medical and training purposes which is understandable because I can see why people in the medical fields would need them so they can use them for their studies and 12% used for archaeological, and the 3% is undetermined which is a little freaky to me. I just imagine that 3% being careless with it and having no purpose on what to do. In the article they talked about how on eBay they stopped selling human trades except for head hair, that's great they did that but that's just one website, what about the others? I personally think it's legal to a point to purchase a skull. It depends on how you plan on using the skull. What I think is illegal if someone just people go out of their way to murder someone for their skull just to sell it for money. Like for instance in 1985, India banned exporting human remains over concern that people were being murdered for them. All in all I found this article really creepy but interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of selling human skulls shocked me at first, but after reading the article, it doesn't seem too weird. It should be legal selling these skills as long as background checks are done. I don't think anyone wants a skull of a person recently murdered or dug up from a grave. Sure anyone could purchase them, they're used for mostly for medical reasons. Skulls are used for doctors and others in medical fields. Archaeologists and other fields use skulls and other human bones to study from. Selling skulls online shouldn't be such a big deal, think of all the academic uses it could benefit others.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was very shocking that bone sellers, traders, and buyers would choose to use social media to find and sell skulls. It is currently very legal to sell and buy skulls, whether in the specialized stores and businesses, or online. Some of the origins of these skulls are said to be unknown, but most were originally sold from India when this began. Currently some may be dug up from graves, found in estate sales, or possibly had been donated to science. Many people are worried that people may have been killed for their skulls. Although intended for medical professionals, or for forensic scientists, when sold online, mostly anyone can buy them. The article stated that many of the professionals legally supplying the skulls are fearful that they may not be able to because others are choosing to do so in a mostly illegal way. The way skulls are sold and who is allowed to buy them needs to be regulated so that it is more safer and respectful to the former person that skull was.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I can say that I simply don’t understand what goes through the minds of those willing to buy these. Even though they might look cool after decorations and carvings, a human skull is still a human skull. It is legal to buy and sell these skulls for medical and archeological reasons. However, it is hard to tell which ones are legitimate. This is due to small amounts of grave robbers and even murders in order acquire some skulls.
ReplyDeleteThis article didn’t really shock me. In all honesty it was actually very interesting and if it was legal to buy a human skull that had intricate carvings on it I might just buy it! This article was about how people would sell human bones, mostly skulls on websites such as Ebay and even Facebook. At first, no one except for the people selling and buying seemed to notice what was going on. But after a while, people such as the ones that published an analysis in the Journal of Forensics Science started to take notice and talk about the selling of these skulls. Not shortly after did Ebay ban trade in human remains, which left some people in a frenzie. Though it may seem weird for people to want human remains in this period of time, in history humans skulls were vital to students in medical schools. Even though it would be cool to have a human skull I don’t think I’ll be getting one anytime soon, and I really hope that my skull never ends up on anyone’s shelf.
ReplyDeleteReading this article sure stirs up a whirlwind of emotions within me. Awe-inspiring -- the artful talent and beauty held within each skull. Disgust -- that's an actual human skull, perhaps even one of a child?! Wonder and intrigue - where/how/why did that skull end up on the market? Humor - funny how eBay didn't ban trade/sale of human body parts (except hair) until just 4 days after the study was published, shedding light on this 'hushed' market. Unphased - by the black market selling, isn't that the case with all things illegal? Grateful - that this industry / art is receiving attention. Hopeful - that it will lead to nationwide regulations and policing of the sell/trade of skulls. Antique medical skulls are okay for trading, but the sale of 'new' skulls should be reserved strictly for educational, medical and research professionals and purposes. Torn -- while artistically gorgeous, does it have to be a human medium, why not a man-made material (resins, clays, etc.)? Shocked -- I had no idea that this article would awaken so many emotions for me.
ReplyDeleteThe article informs the reader about the sales of human skulls online. I would just like to ask why? Why do you need human skulls and why do you need to make art out of them? Aren't there other materials you can use? If you can't tell already, I'm not necessarily for the sales of human skulls, or any part of a human in general! It just disgusts me how human remains are being treated like they are everyday things. I feel the sales of human skulls should not be legal. My main reason for this other than the fact that it's disgusting is that how do you know the person who previously was the skull wanted their skull to be used and sold? It's like being a donor, you should have to sign something off when you are alive for your skull to be sellable when you are dead.
ReplyDeleteThis article is talking about how human skulls are sold online on websites such as eBay and are sold for a good price (around $800 a piece). I think that this is kinda weird because people take skulls of dead people and make a living and making a profession out if it. Also, I wonder where this concept and idea of making skulls into art came from. I also was wondering why this hasn't been taken care of before because I think that this could in a way be disrespectful and kind of rude to the person and their family. Some other problems I thought of while reading this was that would there be more crimes like murder and grave robbery because now skulls have a really high value in the market? But on the other hand this could be good because if someone was doing research on a skull and they don’t want the skull then you could keep it and make money off it .
ReplyDeleteAt first I couldn't believe what I was hearing, not only the fact that human skulls were being sold, but rapidly purchased? These skulls go up to 800 dollars! But after reading further I started to understand the relativley cool peices of art they were. In no way am I saying that this trade should go on, but meerly stating that I can see where they are appreciated. Good thing these skulls have been taken of the legal market, but instead they are still being purshased off websites such as: Facebook, and "The Bone Room".
ReplyDeleteThe article "Human Skulls Are Being Sold Online, But Is It Legal?" explains how just recently the buying and selling of human parts (besides head hair) has been abolished. Although, the people who buy and sell will just do it directly or in more secretive ways and anyone can buy them. In India, there was a man that was found selling 1,500 bones from children that went missing so the buying and selling of parts is illegal there. Surprisingly, states are the ones that are making it a law that you cannot buy or sell human parts not the US as a whole. The people who buy the skulls use them for various reasons like art or study a face structure but they're still not allowed to be sold on EBay anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt started when an archaeologist took a picture of a human skull and posted it on eBay. Later he started carving designs into the skulls and sell them as well. Eventually, eBay banned trade in human remains except head hair
ReplyDelete(which is still pretty weird). The fact that people were selling human bones didn't really surprised me what surprised me was that the skulls were only worth around $650 I feel like they’d be worth more since people were probably killing each other to sell their skulls. I’m still confused on how so many people got a hold of human skulls to be selling them on eBay.
This article is really shocking. I didn’t know the buying and selling of human remains was an “industry” but apparently it’s larger than originally thought. It started on ebay, until they became aware that human skulls were being sold on their site, the trade then expanded to smaller websites and some specifically made for buying bones. As creepy as this is, its super interesting, not really something you hear everyday. I think it's pretty cool that the skulls are being used for art as well as medical and educational reasons: illegal (in some states) or not. Also, the fact that some “leftover” donated body parts go towards bone/ skull selling is awesome. Who knows if some donors skulls will be made into art or be used for a science class. Although selling human remains online is a bit out there, I have to admit, its pretty awesome… in a weird creepy way.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I had two thoughts; First of all, selling skulls is a little weird. Where did they even get them? Second of all, why would you need a skull in the first place? Even though this is weird, the article says that so far, there is nothing in the law that is stopping us from buying them. Only only reason you would not be able to sell bone or human parts of any type is the website you use to sell them. On eBay, the bones have to be clean, articulated, and for medical purposes. So in the end, you really should not be buying skulls unless you need it for a medical purpose.
ReplyDeleteThis article is about the sale of human skulls, and how it's legal.In my opinion people are making a big deal out of nothing, selling a human skull without any wrong doing should never be a crime. The skull trade effects many people's lives including skull artist, skull collectors and scientist. All skulls do in a dead body is sit there, why don't we try to make the human race better as a whole by expressing creativity passion and being inovative. All we have to do is leave the skull trade be legal.
ReplyDeleteI was astounded by the fact that the purchasing and selling of skulls is a popular thing to do. People purchasing skulls could be okay is it is used in a way for research or for other uses. however this creates a problem due to the high price people are willing to pay for them, it makes people want to kill others for these skulls. If selling skulls became a common thing to do, I don't think I would follow this trend. The fact that people are purchasing the remains of others is very strange, and for what purpose? Maybe some are using them for research, however I don't think that all of these people are using them only for research.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked that people actually sell human skulls online. That used to be legal but now it’s banned. The skulls come from donors and then are cleaned to be sold. People can’t sell these skulls online anymore. There's only some companies that are allowed to do that.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite surprising, to think that other people kill other people for organs and skulls. Yes, the discovery of the skulls in the article are unknown but in general it's scary to think that people kikk for body parts. This is quite a morbid way of expressing ones art, but it's very cool looking. Since they're real it's more of an official piece, it makes it spooky. I think if a skull is found and it came from someone who died a long, long, long time ago, then it should be okay to make and sell. Skulls have always been an important art aspect, they've been mostly portrayed in the day of the dead, or sugar skulls, and even tattoos. Skulls are everywhere and people should be able to use skulls in a legal aspect for their art if they so choose.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that though it is scary to think that the skulls were once people, it is also a very interesting and creative piece of art.
DeleteI think it’s really weird that you can buy human skulls online. The one guy, Zane Wylie, he is obsessed with human skulls. It surprises that me he has his own collection of skulls and sells them online. Recently, eBay banned buying and selling human skulls. I don’t think it should be illegal, it’s just strange. It’s kind of weird that you can get a human skull on Facebook. It’s weird that you can just go on Facebook and buy a skull.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It makes me really uncomfortable
DeleteHuman skulls are being sold for money. Some are sold for as much as $9,000. I think this is very weird and creepy that some people are only buying them to have them, but I think it is very amazing that some people can buy them for knowledge and to study the human bone structure. So I believe that they should only be sold to professionals through donors only, and I think they should not allow them to be sold off ebay. The United States has not made selling them illegal as a whole, but they did make selling them illegal in certain states. Some countries have made it illegal as a whole, but others haven’t and that is not good. It is not good because some people kill to sell the skulls to make thousands of dollars.
DeleteThe selling of human skulls at first glance is probably seen as creepy and weird. But if its for medical purposes and is done in a safe and legal way then it really isn't that wrong. I do think it should be over a different,more official website other than Facebook and eBay. If its for any other purpose other than medical purposes it should be illegal.
ReplyDeleteIllegal is right. The medical purpose I totally understand and am okay with; but any other reason gives me the heebie jeebies.
DeleteI think that if people are obtaining the skulls in legal ways (not murdering people or grave robbing) they should be aloud to make art out of them. I do see why websites like ebay would ban selling the selling of skulls. However personally I think the complete banning of them in states is a bit much. I mean it would be pretty cool to have an actual human skull plus it’s a good conversation starter. Though it would be cool I don’t think I would actually own one.
ReplyDeleteThis whole concept of skull selling is very foreign and unfamiliar to me so I was really shocked seeing that map at the start of the article. To hear this guy talk about how him and others are making a living doing this really got me interested. Hearing that fact of 454 skulls that were listed on eBay with an average opening bid of 650 dollars being sold over a seven month period was insane. It makes sense though to hear people talk about this practice being made illegal doesn't surprise me but the history behind all this is very interesting. In the end that quote at the very end of the article by Wylie saying "All it takes is for someone to write an article, and our business could be over" really tied up the article well and left me wondering more.
ReplyDeleteI agree that skulls shouldn't be kept after they die
DeleteIn the past few years human skulls have been starting to be sold on the internet. But skull selling isn’t a new trend. There are many valid reasons people have interest in human skulls and remains, but does that make it okay to sell online? Recently scientists have found hundreds of human skulls on ebay, leading ebay to ban the selling of human remains. Most of the skulls on ebay were offered for medical or teaching, which makes me question why a medical school would want to buy a potentially faulty skulls off the internet. Most of the skulls for sale had very vague information of where they came from. I think this could mean some of skulls were dug up unethically. I support donors that give their bodies to science but there is programs to do that through like skulls unlimited. Skulls unlimited is the only legal company in the U.S, but that doesn’t stop people from running private websites and selling skulls. Corrupt skull trading has been going on for centuries and isn’t a new problem. For decades India's remains were traded to western continues for use a medical specimens. But in 1985 this was banned because there was suspicion of cruel acts to get these body parts. Overall, I think the selling of body parts has a very fine line of acceptable and unethical. As long as it is through a legal company and from donors I think the medical use of human remains is okay. But, anything like what is happening through the internet is very disrespectful.
ReplyDeleteThis article wasnt shocking to me because i watch Rob Dyke videos, which has lots of stories about things like this. I have to admit that this is pretty cool and creepy though. Selling skulls is illegal in some states but not all. People buy them for medical and art purposes, but the bones have to be properly cleaned and so forth. Also, you can not get the bones from ebay, but you can get them from other places. Bones for sale help those in medical fields learn more about facial features and how muscles attach to the skull. These skulls come from the black market which is most likely why people go missing all the time. They want the bones.
ReplyDeleteThe article is shocking to me because it's weird to think that people are buying skulls that used to be a person. Selling skulls is illegal in most states, but not all. The skulls come from people who donate but in some cases they come from grave robbing and murder. You can buy them for medical or other needs like that. It is also for pretty much anyone who wants to buy a skull for artistic reasons. Someone can purchase them from U.S donors, online, Skulls Unlimited, or The Bone Room. In the article, it tells how people can buy human skulls. You used to be able to sell them on eBay but now it is illegal in most states.You can, however, buy it for artistic or medical reasons.Although, it got bad when people found out that they were getting the skulls from murder, grave robbing, or other illicit means. So, it was made illegal to sell skulls in most states, but not all.
ReplyDeleteCreepy. Creepy. Creepy. This is disturbing. Creepy. Creepy. Creepy. I find it unreal why people would buy the disturbing artifacts, much less decorate them as “art”. You want to make art, go buy a canvas and some pretty colors, not a multiple century old human head. Or for that matter, a several MONTH old human head. Skulls previously supplied from India were obviously being made from murdered children. Children with lives, a place to go in the world. It becomes very clear which bones are properly cleaned for medical use and which have been killed for, dug up for, and decorated for the public. Why there can’t be a clear federal law banning the retail of these decorated skulls and providing proper punishment for the creeps that sell them astounds me. As you can tell by the map in the article, only 10 out of the 48 states shown are skull-free, as far as we know. California, among the worst, has 51 skulls for sale. I believe this is an easily fixed issue, and should be fixed as soon as possible.
ReplyDeletei think it is disturbing that people are selling human skulls on the internet. i dont understand why anybody would buy a human skull for pleasure. if you bought the skull for medical purposes, it wouldn't be bad but people buy them for carvings an decorations. any one could buy them from the black market, but you would first have to find where that is. no skull selling is not illegal, but only doctors should be able to sell them, and only for medical purposes.
ReplyDeleteI find this article very disturbing. It is ridiculous to me that there are people out there that would buy a human skull that used to be inside a living person. I don't get it, there are many man made realistic skulls that you could buy at a Halloween store, but instead they have to buy an actual human skull. No one should be even in possession of one of these, it's just too creepy. Also this traded illegally through the black market which is just sketchy. I can't believe people would go through this process to get a human skull which is disgusting and creepy. I feel like this a huge problem and there definitely should be a fix put to this as soon as possible. I would be surprised if this continued in the future because there has to be police and other people looking into this. It's just crazy to me that there are people out there that would kill someone to get there skull and sell it to people. And then there are people out there that would buy them which is disturbing.
ReplyDeleteI was extremely surprised to hear that someone could a make a living primarily on selling human bones. Not to mention the thriving industry that came from selling bones. Despite this, I think it was very smart to put laws against the selling of these bones. People from sketchy background s should not be allowed to sell these, because we know that the process of selling bones could be done legally, like Skulls Unlimited. Everything they do is 100 percent legal and they only sell to people with valid scientific and medical purposes, and I think that is the way it should be done. Random people selling skulls on Ebay is just too weird.
ReplyDeleteThe trading of skulls has been around for a lot longer than many people expected. It all started when one guys decided to post a skull on Ebay. This started a chain reaction, all the people who had skulls of dead people proceeded to sell their dead family member's skulls also. Despite the fact that each skull sells for a lot of money (650-850) dollars, I'm not sure why they would even have skulls in the first place. It's weird and gross. I know I would never have my grandpa or grandma's skull.
ReplyDeleteI think its a risky but legal and high profit business that`s worth the risk form a financial perspective. But many may consider it immoral and unethical. But still non the less its simply art thats been happening for hundreds of years and wont stop because of the regulations and how unknown skull buying is.
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest this does not surprise me. The internet is a very weird place with not many good qualities. But I realize that it is a high profit business and money is money but it is to an extent. Breaking the law to get money and particularly murder is not a good way to gain a quick buck.
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