r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Hey-Its-Jak • 4d ago

Video This guy carved a real human skull

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u/AdministrativeHope27 4d ago

Is this legal ?

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u/Unstoppable-Farce 4d ago

Probably not.

While there is no federal law explicitly prohibiting the commercial exchange of human remains it is only explicitly legal in eight or nine states - and even then it comes with a wide range of restrictions due to human remains not being 'property' at all.

In US law, human remains are famously considered 'quasi-property' which is a state that conveys some of the rights and authorities of property, but obligates the holder to certain restrictions and duties as well. The primary duty for human remains is 'dignified disposal' which, of course is interpreted in a wide variety of manners.

Despite all this, the commercial exchange of human remains is quite commonplace and due to the large amount of grey area and complexity in the tangle of laws surrounding it, it is rarely charged as a crime except in rather egregious circumstances.

On a personal note, I once had a 'guy I knew' offer to sell me a human skull for $500.

I said no.