'Alleen voor studiedoeleinden' (For study purposes only): The human remains trade on Marktplaats.nl

This article presents an initial qualitative and quantitative investigation of that portion of the global human remains trade that exists on the Netherlands-based e-commerce platform Marktplaats.nl. We assess prices and associated metadata in a database of 236 examples of complete or partial human skulls, isolated elements, ‘ethnographica’ incorporating human remains and miscellaneous items collected from August 2017 through April 2021. Evaluated in the context of a discussion of legislation governing the sale, use and transport of human remains in the Netherlands and Belgium, we present data pertaining to total price variation per year and the geographic distribution (by province) of the geolocation tags included with each post evaluated against the category of human remains being offered. Our results indicate a diversity of human remains offered on the platform, including alleged archaeological and ethnographic items, and distinct patterning in their distribution. Given the legislative landscape, the results presented, and that Marktplaats.nl is the oldest and most frequently used secondhand e-commerce platform in the Netherlands (and shows significant use within the Flanders region of Belgium as well), we conclude with policy recommendations that, we feel, would enable the platform to curtail such trafficking if so chosen.