How are the dead disposed of?

Disposing of the dead seems a little too out of the ordinary for me to write a huge blog post on... but nonetheless it is something that we all have to do one day. I feel like after going through several funerals, most of my family has gotten used to the idea of simple cremation. None of my family has ever really been buried in a cemetery because our culture usually goes to India and drops the ashes in a water source or other place of choice usually near where the deceased lived. I found the fact of putting a deceased relatives' ashes in an urn or container and putting it on a mantle to be very fascinating since in our culture there is a huge belief in an afterlife, and the afterlife can only come about when the ashes have been properly "disposed" of back in India.

How else are the dead disposed of?

Well I think the most intriguing way of disposing of the dead would be to do it the "green" way. I have never actually been that conscious about being green until just recently. Apparently in Florida there was a funeral home that created a way of disposing bodies in a green way by dissolving bodies in heated alkaline water... interesting right? The technique they have is called the Resomator and was created in Scotland. I found that pretty "green" but it has apparently been used in the US state, Ohio, along with Australia, but as it so happened, they had to shut it down because it didn't fit with state regulation. "Resomation" has also made it on the "Top 10 Unusual Ways to Dispose the Dead" at number 8.

Resomator from Resomator LTD.

Also interesting enough to be on the chart of Top Ten Unusual Ways to die, are: space burials, memorial diamonds, and endocannibalism.

Space burials seemed to be pretty unique, if you ask me. Starting the chart at number 10, this burial costs anywhere between $1000-45,000 depending on the type of burial you would want. I feel like this would be one of the most intriguing ways to dispose of a body, but nonetheless it comes with a pretty hefty pricetag. Apparently you can "... have your cremated remains launched into space and returned to earth, launched into an earth orbit, launched to the moon, or launched into deep space." Among those that actually bought one of these is the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry.

Simulated version of a Space burial

Memorial diamonds are another unique way to dispose of the dead. At number 9 on the chart, and starting at $2700, you can have the remains of a PET OR LOVED ONE turned into synthetic diamonds that can be added to a ring, bracelet, necklace, or pretty much anything else you can think of. The diamonds come in a variety of colours including blue, yellow, red, green, or for those who like to keep it simple, clear. Pretty cool huh? I don't know if I would personally want to carry a dead relative on my hand or neck, but hey, whatever floats your boat :).

An example of a memorial diamond

Ahh.. Endocannibalism...At number 2, it is classic in some parts of New Guinea and even India for that matter. Mostly found in First Nation's cultures, it is believed by some groups that it can give them supernatural powers, such as the Aghoris in India or keep the deceased alive like some tribes out in Brazil. To a lot of us this seems like a pretty disturbing way to get rid of remains, but nonetheless it should be respected as a unique and cultural adaptation. Why no picture for this one? Pretty sure we don't want to see humans eating other humans, do we?

Which of the above burials would I choose?

If I had a choice of which of the above burials I would choose, it would have to be the simulated version of a space burial. Even the thought of death right now urks me a little bit because this semester has been so hard on me with so many deaths. It makes me happy to think that my relatives would always have a constant reminder of me in an accessory they get to wear all the time. Although the thought is unique, it would be a little bit strange to my parents and family since no relatives have been properly buried, but cremated, and their ashes spread in India along a body of water that was considered sacred to them. I do, however, wonder what they would think of putting me in a diamond ring. They know my fascination with jewlery, so maybe they wouldn't mind.   

Special thanks to:

Resomation image and information:

http://digitaljournal.com/article/310963

Top Ten Unusual Ways to Die information and images:

http://thelistcafe.com/top-10-unusual-ways-to-dispose-of-the-dead

Databases, cemetery data, and quantitative analysis

As a person in an anthropological statistics class right now, I found this assignment quite difficult. We use a program called SAS in the lab times, and it appears to be very simplistic in comparison to Microsoft Access. Quantitative analysis could be made much easier with proper instructions on how to work the Microsoft Access program and but just be given general instructions on how to do simple things such as query but not be given instructions on more complicated means of data such as the questions presented in the Data Assignment. I felt that even with having lab drop in times, it was difficult to schedule them with class times, and with such a wide array of difficult questions, the assignment could have been laid out more clearly. Simple questions required mass amounts of knowledge to answer.

Cemetery data seems to be fairly interesting. I almost look forward to doing the monument analysis. It seems a fair bit complicated but I think as working with a group it might be easier done than said. I found the data in the cemetery analysis fairly easy to understand, but the only major complication was the ones with infants and/or babies. They were relatively hard to group together. No names was another area of the Evergreen Cemetery analysis that was difficult due to lack of clarity in the lab days.

With hardly any experience with using databases, I think they were beneficial in keeping information together and organized, but when it comes down to analysis they basically make things more complicated than they ever need to be.

Grave Goods: What would I want to Bury Myself With & What would others Bury with Me?

Archaeologists seems to have a an intriguing job trying to find out the life of a past human being. Beginning to plot my own funeral seems to be a little odd, but nonetheless, I have actually had some interesting conversations about how I would go about plotting it and where I would like to be buried. My friends and I seem to have come across this conversation over the Texas Chainsaw Massacre during Halloween season in Los Angeles, when we thought it would be "cool" to go visit some grave sites in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I was mortified at even the thought of going to a place like that, but then I figured we really have nothing to lose but all to gain. It's so strange for me to feel even remotely strong about gaining an experience from a cemetery because each time I have gone to one I come out feeling more and more mortified that I even went there. I also think it is strange when people think walking through a cemetery is peaceful. I wonder where the thought of "peace" by walking through a cemetery comes from.

As I entered the cemetery, it didn't seem as scary as it should have. In fact, I felt kind of at peace in a weird sense because it was so tranquil with all the gorgeous architecture on some graves and the ponds that surrounded the sites all around.

See the appeal now? Hollywood Forever Cemetery

After some walking around, one of my friends asked where we would want to be buried and if there was anything we wanted buried what would it be? Hearing the question for a blog post was de-ja-vu. When I was asked the question initially, I didn't know how to respond, but then I really thought about it, and began to believe that a grave site does indeed tell a lot about who you are/were as a person. So what would I bury with myself to tell archaelogists about me? For one, I have to say I have always been a person who enjoyed the finer things in life (maybe because I'm a Taurus? Who knows). I am a huge family, friends and pets person. I love cars, sports (especially basketball) travelling, big houses, lots of clothes and have a huge t-shirt collection that I invested a lot of money into. As far as being buried with me goes, I would definitely want a picture in a large frame plated in gold of my family in one and close friends/pets in another. Since I have travelled a fair amount, every place I have gone I have acquired a shot glass to represent that place. I would love to have my shot glass collection from places like China, Singapore, India, Vegas, Miami, Chile, Brazil, the Bahamas, Japan, England, France, Italy amongst other places to go with me so that as I go into the after life (yes I believe there is one), I travel lots more as well. In addition to all that, I would like to have keychains representing every car I owned and a set of keys to my house I owned before I died. Ok, now I'm starting to sound a little crazy, but oh well, this is me :P.

Jeez, now here comes the scary question... What would someone else choose for me?

I have to say that definitely depends on the person. Every friends circle I have made brings something unique out of me. There's certain people you do certain things with but don't do with others, am I right? Ever since I turned 19, I definitely have to say I have had the most fun. Whether it be clubbing/going out, travelling, or doing random dinners/movies, everyone has their own idea of fun. Everyone who knows me well, knows I love to travel, so I'm sure someone would choose a representation of the travelling aspect (probably the shot glass collection because everyone is always so fascinated by the few that are hanging above my door) My shot glass collection is similar to the one below... They come in all sorts of colours but they're all the same size.

A shot glass collection similar to mine

Cars..  HUGE thing for me. The car below, the 2014 BMW 4-series Cabriolet, has been a dream for me ever since the concept car was shown in 2011 at the Detroit Car Show. I have probably talked about more cars in my life than anything else. I think someone would definitely represent my fascination with cars in a big way. The best way would be with a keychain collection of all the ones I owned or liked, but I think model cars would do just fine. Of course the good old party days would be presented by almost everyone. I would probably assume they would throw in a fine bottle of wine or champagne because every time any of us got together to go out it was always a celebration that we were all together and still friends even after all the crazy stuff we had all gone through.

Hopefully the near-future car: 2014 BMW 4-series Cabriolet

The grave goods that someone else would pick for me and what I would pick for myself definitely don't seem to contradict anything that someone else would choose for me. Everyone knows I have a fascination with cars, I enjoy travelling, going out, and the fact that I like finer things in life, so I believe it would all be well represented :). Alright thats enough for now... I better go before this gets longer.

Special thanks to these websites for the use of images:

-Hollywood Forever image

http://www.daytrippen.com/hollywood-forever-cemetery.html

- BMW 4-series Cabriolet image

http://www.autoevolution.com/news-g-image/2013-f33-bmw-4-series-convertible-rendering/70762.html

- Shot glass image

http://www.gnr8.biz/product_info.php?products_id=1380

Archaeology and Me: Who Am I?

As the year kicks off, Archaeology of Death has been the one class I have to say I have been looking forward to the most. I'm a 21 year-old 3rd year Anthropology major, who has aspiring dreams of being an anesthetist. I have taken a previous archaeology course in the summer which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I hope this class proves to be as interesting as the name sounds.