An anthropological view of death:- Cultural relativismo Not projecting our cultural categorieso All cultures are logical and rational in own terms- Cultural contexto Interpret something as part of the larger cultural wholeDeath: a biological fact, but also a culturally constructed category1. Physical death ≠ social deatha. EX: “mate” (Pacific Islands) believe a very sick person to be socially dead2. Death not the only alternative to life3. Death a process, not event (no clear moment of death)4. Death not the end (not “dead” and “gone”)a. EX: Kayaop (Brazil) –dead come back as birds5. Degrees of deatha. EX: Berawan (Borneo)6. “Good” vs. “bad” deathI. Encountering Death Archaeologicallya. Where: cemeteries, near/under houses, mortuary monuments (burial mounds), middens (refuse heap)—infantsb. Why: village of 250 people with 5 deaths per yearII. Archaeology of Deatha. Before 1800s, tombs focus on looting because intact things can be foundb. 1800s-1960s, tombs targeted for museum piecesc. Looting and museum collecting share:i. Little interest in human remainsii. Treat graves as source of pretty objectsiii. Not use graves to answer questionsd. What’s special about graves?iv. Material deliberately placed in groundv. Very direct link to belief system, religion, world view (product of ritual behavior)vi. Bodies provide info on al biological aspects of prehistoric population (health, life, histories, etc.)—Bioarchaeologyvii. Contain individuals (allows study of the individual in archaeology—“personhood”)e. Dead don’t bury themselves—graves are the result of funerary or mortuary activities of living people—archaeologists interested in reconstructing these activitiesviii. Deathways: mortuary practices including treatment of corpse, all funeral rituals and customs, construction of burial placef. Every grave an outcome or end product of deathwaysg. Goal: use graves a clues to reconstruct deathways—insights into past social organization, beliefsh. Focus attention on deathways, not objectsLooters, 19th century archaeology Modern archaeology--Object oriented--What deathways might create this particular material?--Graves just a source of objects --Gives us cluesi. Modern archeology questions:a. What order were things put in graves?b. By who? What social groups? Labor involved?c. How social and symbolic aspects expressed in treatment of dead?d. What role did burial rites play in living society?III. Excavation—systematic and careful- Record all spatial positions, associations, and relationships- Expose and record things “in situ” (context)- Goal: extract as much info as possible—specialists?- Soil micromorphology—season of burial? Weather during the funeral? Unpreserved grave goods?- Archaeo-entomoloy—season of death? Length of funeral?- Gut contents—even if there aren’t’ any—sample soils near digestive track- Preservationo Generally correlate with rain fallo All soft tissue disappearso Bones are durable Teeth are most durable—last to decayo Preservation is improved by: Inhibit decomposition Discourage bacterial, microbial, fungal, scavenger activityDeathwaysSocial dimensionBeliefSystemPreservation Grave/ burial, grave goodsWhat happened what theIn the pastarchaeologist sees Location—very dry deserts, very dry caves, very wet (water-logged sites), very cold (EX: Iceman) Anaerobic (low oxygen) conditions (EX: peat bogs)o Differential Preservation: some things preserve better than others Bog bodies buried naked? NO. wool and leather preserve while linen does not. Decay analysis—“anthropologie de terrain”- Reconstructing burial activities by understanding how things decompose in the grave—taphonomy: study of how things preserve in the groundo Sequence of Joint Decay Soonest: fingers, toes, cervical vertebrae Intermediate: elbow, thoracic vertebrae Last: hip, lumbar vertebrae A cadaver is not static—as body decays, soil fills up some spaces before others Bones appear packed and precariously balanced—corpse was in coffin or shroud—“wall effect” Skeleton spread out—body decayed in an empty space, not surrounded by soil; bones disarticulated and move outside original space of body Secondary empty spaces—evidence for perishable grave goodso Case Study: Ban Lum Khap site (Thailand ~1000 B.C.) Wrapped 83% males, 55% of females in coffins- Females have “wealthier” burial treatment; not visible in grave goodso Decay analysis can provide information on: Spatial relationships in grave Season of burial Info on clothing on body Timing of burial sequence Sequence in which objects (including body) placed in grave Whether grave was reopenedConnecting Models: focus on deathways, not physiological reactions to death- Based on study of many cultures- Are general, abstract frameworks- Are good at explaining the “weird”Robert Hertz (1882-1915)- French sociologist“good” presservation “bad” preservation--bone --no bone--tissue --bone “meal”--soft organic (organs)1. Death a processo Intermediary period: when individual is neither alive nor fully deado Secondary burial: after initial mortuary treatment, corpse recovered and burialo Bundle burials—pile of bones, not in anatomical position EX: tiwah of Dayak people from Borneo—secondary burial all relatives attend, soul of dead returns, mass offering of food, priests chant to transport soul to family home in “prosperous village”, all relatives clean bones and put in sandung2. Condition of body linked to state of the spirito “Fate of corpse model the fate of the soul”o EX: until body reaches permanent state (dry bones), spirit of deceased can’t enter final world of dead—as corpse rots to dry bones, soul slowly transforms into the final spirit formo Intermediary period=length of time it takes body to fully decay; for Berawan it is 8 months-2 years3. Spirit/ghost of dead is dangerous in this transitional intermediary periodo Spirit sad, lonely, jealous in its painful limboo Must be appeased—must be fed (can’t sustain itself like spirits of the fully dead)4. Death a “tear” in the fabric of societyo A loss to the social collectiveo Roles lost to societyo Social relationships severed by death—reduces survivors too (social, psychological amputation to loved ones), transforms them to mourners, widows, etc.o Social, emotional, legal roles of dead need to be