The dead are treated and remembered in a range of ways from a simple burial in the old family graveyard to more epic modern treatments like being cremated and shot into outer space. How we interact with our deceased and what occurs during mourning are determined by a range of social, religious, political and personal … Continue reading »
According to Tyler Mathisen of CNBC news, the hottest growing trend within the ”death care industry”, a $17- billion-a-year business in America, is cremation. Of the 2.5 million people who died in 2011 in North America, 42% of them were cremated. That means that the rate of cremation has doubled over the past decade and a … Continue reading »
Examining religion is a tricky thing to do, especially in societies that are over a thousand years gone and have lost large amounts of their archaeological record. First, it can be difficult to tell what religion someone is based solely on their burial and body. There are many indicators of religion like the church one … Continue reading »
The city of Amarna was a 17 year period of change and drama in Egypt’s ancient history. It was established as the capital city of Egypt in 1353 BC during the late 18th dynasty by Pharaoh Akhenaten. He founded the city on virgin land in order to be ”seat of the First Occasion, which he had made … Continue reading »
This past Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending Anthony Bourdain’s Guts and Glory tour, his first live tour that consists of 75 minutes of fantastic food and travel rants. Throughout his expletive filled diatribe, he emphasized that food is the way to reach other cultures. Food is a primary way that people express their … Continue reading »
The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics to sweep through Europe. In only four years, this single disease wiped out half the population and set back the progress of the nations of Western Europe. Its rapid spread was attributed to fleas, who traveled throughout the countrysides and cities on … Continue reading »
If you’ve read any news in the past day, you’ve seen reports regarding cannibalism in colonial Jamestown. It was known prior that the colonists had undergone a number of starvation years where they were forced to eat foods that they wouldn’t normally. The trash pits from the sites hold the remains of animals who aren’t … Continue reading »
There are many things that can happen to a body between death and burial. A good example of this process is Weekend at Bernie’s. Bernie Lomax is murdered within the first twenty minutes of the movie, but he remains an important character as Richard and Larry feign that he is alive in order to continue to … Continue reading »
In archaeology, we are constantly getting updates on old material. When results are released, it isn’t always when the study itself is complete. Further, new methods or techniques may lead to re-analysis of older sites and remains, revealing new conclusions. Updates on old topics can cause increased debate, or end arguments completely depending on the … Continue reading »
A mass grave is a burial that includes multiple individuals within one grave. The term is often used for burials with three or more individuals, since burials less than that can be normal burial activity. Usually, the finding of a mass grave means that something specific occurred to cause this, since it is not a … Continue reading »
