Anthropology: Grave Studies

My first anthropology course was forensic anthropology. The first half of the class was on how to catch a serial killer and the second half was introductory osteology. I was hooked on the first lecture. Why had I never heard of anthropology before!?

The following term I enrolled in all the university's introductory anthropology courses. I had never enjoyed writing papers more than I did in that term. I researched the Wari' and their treatment of the dead (cannibalism) in my Cultural Anthropology class and I researched Stonehenge for my Archaeology class.

I wanted to know more about treatment of the dead in the past. I wanted to know more about the dead.

The next term I took a class on Mass Graves and Genocide. Although the burials were not created in a funerary context, they told amazing stories. I really began to appreciate the techniques and methods of the anthropologists that exhume these bodies and discover the story that is left behind in the ground.

Archaeology of Death really excites me because (I'm hoping) the burials we will discuss were created without malicious intent - they were created under the criteria of a culture's beliefs and values.

Beliefs about what happens in the afterlife have always interested me because no one knows what happens to us after we die. We can only guess. Looking at ancient burials can definitely help us learn what others believed!

An interesting book I read about the afterlife:

"Spook" by Mary Roach

I actually recommend all of her books. She's quite funny in a sarcastic and cynical way. Plus, her footnotes are a riot!