France, June 28 -- The remains were initially buried and then later exhumed for scientific study, and have been held at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris ever since.

On 15 June, the National Assembly gave final approval to a bill already passed by the Senate allowing for the removal of the remains from public collections, which are usually inalienable, making it legally possible to return them to their community.

Martin Friess, head of the biological anthropology collections at the Museum of Mankind, part of the National Museum of Natural History, showed RFI six large grey boxes stacked on top of one another in a climate-controlled storeroom at the museum.

"Inside are the human remains of the six individuals. They were br...