Aboriginal bones returned to Australia in ceremony

A skull and other bone fragments discovered last year in the home of an elderly British academic were handed over to the Australian government in a solemn Aboriginal ceremony Thursday.

The handover was part of Australia's effort to recover indigenous remains held across the world. The government has retrieved remains of more than 1,100 people from the UK since 1990.

Remains were sold to museums and trophy-hunters in the 19th century, Australia's High Commissioner John Dauth said in a telephone interview.

Spotted by Australian diplomats as they were being put up for auction in November, the bones _ a skull, a mandible, a clavicle, two femurs, and …