The skeletal remains of nine people were kept at the Charite University hospital in Berlin presumably for teaching and possibly research purposes, says the museum's archaeologist Dr Keryn Walshe.

She said the remains, female and male, had been out of SA for about 100 years and were the first to be put into the custody of the museum.

The state's Aboriginal community were to take part in a special ceremony on the front lawns of the museum on Saturday.

"They are extremely happy," Dr Walshe said. "They also have agreed the remains will come to the museum, in our care and custody, until - and if - we can find out where they were taken from in SA."

They knew the original location of only one of the nine people and those remains will be repatriated to that place as soon as possible.

She said the museum was really excited about participating in the program to bring the ancestors home.


"It's important culturally and for helping to heal communities that have been severely wounded by having remains taken out of the country."

In the early 20th century, Australian museums and private collectors provided Aboriginal skeletal material to collection institutions around the world and in Australia.

While the practice of donation would not be carried out today, researchers in the early 20th century were interested in indigenous peoples from around the world and requested remains for medical science and physical anthropology.
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